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Some Interesting Papers 

of John McDonogh 



McDONOCJH MONUMENT, 

Lakav'ette Pakk, New Orleans, La. 
To be dedicated December 29, 1S98. 



Some Interesting Papers 
of 

John McDonogh 

Chiefly concerning the Louisiana Purchase 

and 

The Liberian Colonization 



Edited by James T. Edwards, D. D., LL. D. 



Printed by Boys of McDonogh School 

McDonogh, Maryland 

1898. 

/?/0 






\ i;^>94 




INTRODUCTION. 



Although extracts have been made from two or three of the 
letters which follow, it is believed that none of them, with one 
exception, has heretofore been published in full. 

They afford aid in forming a just estimate of the mental 
abilities and moral traits of John McDonogh. 

He was no ordinary man, but cast in an original mold, 
singularly self-centered, and masterful, but withal something of 
a dreamer. Even to this day somewhat of mystery surrounds 
his character, and for a long time during his life he was mis- 
understood and misjudged. Born in Baltimore December 29, 
1779 of that Scotch-Irish stock which has furnished a forceful 
element of our population wherever found, he always displayed 
the combination of practical good sense and imagination which 
are characteristic of that race. He died in McDonoghville, La., 
October 26, 1850. 

His parents were highly respectable people in good cir- 
cumstances. Shortly after reaching his majority he went to 
New Orleans, and from that time forward was almost entirely 
deprived of the companionship of his immediate relatives, and 
he never knew the love of wife and children. Under a calm, 
somewhat stern exterior burned a quenchless enthusiasm for 



2 INTRODUCTION 

the attainment of certain noble ends to which he devoted all 
the energies of his being. To secure these he deemed it 
necessary that his plans should be matured in secret, and this 
was the chief reason why his conduct was misunderstood. 

Two of these great objects were, first, a far-reaching plan 
of education, and second, the liberation of his slaves ; the for- 
mer of these was not known until after his death, and the lat- 
ter was locked in his own heart and the hearts of his bondmen 
for many years. Solitary and alone he wrought out his pro- 
jects for the completion of his lofty purposes. It must not 
be supposed, however, that in the meantime he did not 
prominently participate in the activities that pertained to his 
station as a man of wealth. He was constantly interested in 
the education of youth, and displayed a fair degree of liber- 
ality towards the benevolences of his time, but his posthumous 
fame for good works far surpasses his reputation for philan- 
thropy during his lifetime. 

The success of his educational scheme is now well known 
and need not here be dwelt upon, except to say that he left a 
fortune which finally yielded nearly a million dollars to each 
of the cities New Orleans and Baltimore. These sums have 
been devoted to the improvement of youth, particularly of the 
deserving poor. 

The letters in this pamphlet relate especially, however, to 
two other objects which greatly enlisted his interest ; namely, 
the settlement of the great questions growing out of the Louis- 
iana Purchase, and the colonization of the colored man in 
Liberia. 

McDonogh was an ardent patriot ; he fought for his coun- 



INTRODUCTION 3 

try in 18 12, and had a firm faith in its future greatness. For 
quite a portion of his Ufe he was perhaps the ablest champion 
who contended for the rights of settlers who had become own- 
ers of land included in the Louisiana and the Florida Purchase. 
His discussion in regard to the validity of titles thus obtained 
was characterized by distinguished ability, and the battle 
which he waged in behalf of the people has never yet been 
adequately recognized. He never faltered in this fight, although 
he did not live to see the complete victory. The validity of 
these land titles in dispute in Louisiana and West Florida was 
finally decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, 
January 9, 1874. 

The ability which he displayed in maintaining the validity 
of the Spanish land-titles issued before the actual occupation of 
Eastern Louisiana and West Florida by the United States "com- 
mended him to a large portion of his fellow citizens as a proper 
person to represent their interests in the United States Senate, 
but he was defeated by a small majority." 

The "Mr. Livingston" referred to in Mr. McDonogh's 
letters was the Hon. Robert R. Livingston who was minister to 
France at the time Louisiana was purchased from Napoleon, 
then First Consul. This magnificent domain was obtained in 
the spring of 1803 for $15,000,000 and added nine hundred 
thousand square miles of territory to our possessions. The 
Spaniards did not like this acquisition by the United States, 
and protested against the bargain. They raised vexatious 
questions as to the true boundaries of the territory, contending 
that they owned all the country east of the Mississippi. These 
limits were at length defined and the Spaniards were left in 



4 INTRODUCTION 

possession ol" the country along the GiUf of Mexico to the 
Atlantic Ocean, east of a line along the Pearl River, and south 
of the 31st parallel. This territory was known as West and 
East Florida. The Floridas were ceded to the United States, 
February 22d, 1 819, in consideration of five million dollars, which 
however by the terms of the treaty was paid to American citizens 
in compensation for depredations committed by Spanish vessels. 

The complicated questions arising from the varied claims 
of the French, the Spanish and the American governments 
and of private citizens are the subjects of discussion in Mr. 
McDonogh's letters, and, he says, "more than once commanded 
the attention of Daniel Webster and other great legal minds." 

Next to education, the subject which appealed most 
strongly to the philanthropic heart of Mr. McDonogh was the 
liberation of his slaves, and, in general, the colonization of the 
colored man in Africa. His views are set forth at such length in 
the following letters that it will be unnecessary to elucidate them 
further than to speak of his relations to the American Coloniza- 
tion Society, and the results of his efforts as shown in the Liber- 
ian Republic. He was one of the founders of this society, 
of which Henry Clay was president, and for a long time Dr. 
Gurley was secretary ; was one of the vice-presidents, a life- 
long contributor to its funds, and at his death the society re- 
ceived by will from his estate the gift of one hundred thousand 
dollars. 

The Republic of Liberia now includes a population of 
about two million persons, composed of the colonists, the civil- 
ized Christian natives, and the aborigines. It was founded by 
the American Colonization Society, which sent there from 



INTRODUCTION 5 

America about eighteen thousand colored people. The colony 
declared itself an independent nation in .1847. Maryland, a 
negro 'republic to the east of Cape Palmas, founded as a 
colony in 1821 by philanthropists of Maryland, united with 
Liberia in 1857. The republic now embraces a territory of 
one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, and, if we may 
judge from the exhibit made at the World's Columbian Exposi- 
tion, is a country rich in resources and products. It has not 
realized all the anticipations of the friends of colonization, but 
amid many diljiculties has continued to grow steadily in spite 
of some attempts to destroy its independence made by the 
powers which are seeking empire in the Dark Continent. 

The personal letters here published indicate a rare, old- 
fashioned courtesy and great felicity of expression. They also 
show the author to have been possessed of strong affections 
and a deeply religious nature. While he was inflexible in his 
theories of education and human responsibility, he was also 
loving and tender-hearted, delighting in children, music and 
flowers, and cherished to the last the deepest affection for his 
parents and other kindred. 



RELATING TO THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 



PAPERS OF JOHN McDONOGH. 



TO G. A. MAGRUDER, UNITED STATES SENATOR. 

New Orleans, September, 1812. 
Dear Sir : — 

In fulfillment of my promise made to you when last I had 
the honor of seeing you, before your departure from this for 
the seat of government, I now beg leave to address you, en- 
closing you copies of the Title Deeds from the Spanish Govern- 
ment to lands sold me in that part of West Florida claimed 
and taken possession of by the Government of the United 
States, as forming a part of Louisiana under their purchase, 
which names are attached to and make part of this state, giv- 
ing you at the same time, for your information, an account of 
such occurrences as took place under the Spanish govern- 
ment, as came to my knowledge relating to that district, and to 
the sales of land made in it, with such observations thereon as 
may strike me. 

You will perceive, sir, by the enclosed title papers, the 
nature of the sales made in that district by the government of 
Spain, and continued by her up to the day on which the United 
States took possession of Baton Rouge, which, I believe, was 
in January, 181 1 (the form and nature of all which sales are 
the same). 



lO INTERESTIxNG PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

A valuable consideration in money was paid for them, as 
they were sold at a price, established by estimation, which was 
in many instances as high as 30, 35, and 40 cents per French ar- 
pent, (a measure less than the English acre,) which price, estab- 
lished in every instance by respectable estimators, appointed by 
the King on one side and by the purchasers on the other, assisted 
by the Surveyor General of Louisiana, added to the fees of 
office. Surveyor's fees, which are very heavy, and expenses of 
running, marking and bounding the lands, made them stand 
the purchasers, all expenses paid, in many instances as high as 
60 to 75 cents per arpent. 

You will also, sir, please find enclosed a certified copy of 
two royal orders of the King of Spain at Madrid to his Intend- 
ant, John Ventura Morales, whereby he ratifies all the acts of 
sales of land made by said Intendant up to their date, and 
instructs them to go on selling the royal lands in the manner 
most advantageous for the interest of his sovereign. Than the 
whole of those papers none can be more full and conclusive in 
the establishment of title. 

The whole quantity of lands sold by the Spanish govern- 
ment in that district is of trifling amount, of no consequence to 
the government of the United States, and beneath its con- 
sideration. I assure you, and vouch to you, sir, for the truth of 
my assertion, that the whole quantity sold does not exceed 
half a million of arpents, and that divided amongst a great 
number of individuals and families, as it was sold by the 
government of Spain in tracts of every size, according to the 
abilities of the purchasers, from 2,000 arpents, 3,000, 5,000, 
10,000, up to 50,000 and 100,000 arpents, and which lands, 
(now held in possession of the purchasers, in many instances, 
for ten years last past within a few months,) have passed 
through the hands of various purchasers for valuable consider- 
ations, in many instances have descended in succession, and in 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH II 

Others have been seized, executed, and sold under decrees of 
courts of justice. 

The people, sir, of that part of Florida are very unpleas- 
antly situated, and are generally in a dissatisfied state, arising 
from this uncertainty in which their land titles are placed. 
This dissatisfaction is increased from their perceiving that no 
direct law, as yet, has been passed by Congress confirming all 
claims of individual and Spanish grants. A law of that nature 
they confidently expected would have been passed by Congress 
immediately after taking possession of their country. Since 
that period, two years now nearly they find have passed away, 
and they are still left in the same state of uncertainty ; and 
from the late law of Congress establishing an office for the en- 
registering of doing, they perceive that that state of uncertainty 
is still likely to exist for several years ; during which time of 
uncertainty their property must lie dead, as it can have no 
value, nor can acquire any, until the decision of the United 
States thereon. 

I assure, you, sir, the situation of those people is particu- 
lar!}' hard, and of sufficient interest to demand the immediate 
attention of the government. The population of that district, 
as you are no doubt well informed, is composed of French, 
Spanish, and Americans. The settlements of the Arnite, Camite, 
and Tickfoha rivers are large and principally Spanish, but all 
American in heart. The people of that district for many years 
back were anxious to form a part of the American Confederacy. 
They made a struggle to that effect and succeeded therein. 

They place every confidence in the justice of their govern- 
ment, and are convinced that nothing more is waiting than a 
proper representation of their claims, to have them at once 



13 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

confirmed. They therefore, sir, look forward to you, knowing 
your zeal for their interest, and your knowledge of their land 
claims, to have those claims laid before Congress, and a law 
passed at the ensuing session confirming all acts of the Spanish 
government up to the day on which the United States took 
possession of Baton Rouge, in January 1811. 

For, sir, should such a law not be enacted, and our govern- 
ment attempt to lay aside or annul any acts of the late govern- 
ment, they thereby open a door to litigation which would not 
be closed in half a century. And that without any benefit to 
the general government, but on the contrary an injury. They 
would ruin many of the inhabitants, render them unhappy, dis- 
satisfied, and ill disposed towards that government on whose 
success their claims depended, and that without any advantage, 
as I before observed, to the general government. 

For should it set aside any of the Spanish titles, the old 
British titles would consequently come in and stand good, and 
on every foot of land sold by the Spanish government, and a 
great deal more, there is a British title and patent in existence, 
so that the general government would not gain a foot of land 
by setting aside any of the Spanish titles. In that event they 
would only deprive American citizens of them, to bestow them 
upon British subjects. 

The general government, sir, having given to the inhabi- 
tants of that part of Louisiana which they first took possession 
of, a proof of their justice and liberality, it appears to me, in 
having so done, have thereby fixed and established a preced- 
ent, which they cannot get over, and which justice equally 
demands from them in the present instance. I allude, sir, to 
their having ratified all acts of the former government of this 
country up to the day on which they received possession of 
a part of it, which was on the 20th day of December, 1803. 

They did, sir, even more. They confirmed to all claim- 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 13 

ants, as far as two thousand acres, even where no species of 
title existed, but where only a settlement had been made. 
How much more strong, sir, then, are the claims in the present 
instance, where a valuable consideration has been paid, and 
titles exist in complete forms, stamped by every necessary for- 
mality of the government, and even confirmed and ratified in 
the most solemn manner by the sovereign. 

The purchase of Louisiana was made at Paris, on the 30th 
day of April, 1803, and the United States government ratified 
all acts of the former government up to the 20th day of Decem- 
ber of the same year, the day on which they took possession of 
a part of it. 

Now, sir, I would ask, if they ratified all acts of the late 
government up to the day on which they received a part of the 
country, would not justice and liberal policy point out the 
propriety of confirming in some manner all acts of the late 
government up to the day on which they took forcible posses- 
sion of the remaining part, (I am wrong — not the remaining part, 
because the Mobile part claimed by the United States is still 
held by Spain,) which had been withheld and which is still a 
subject of contestation and negotiation between those govern- 
ments ? 

I think it will, and I cannot, nor will not, doubt the justice 
of my country. Should the government not do so, one portion 
of the people will have just cause to complain that they are 
treated with less liberality by the government than another has 
been, and that a principle has been laid down for them different 
from that established for another portion of their fellow-citizens 
in an adjoining district. 

Another case, sir, (which occurred between our govern- 
ment and that of Spain,) to which I beg leave to call your 
attention, in which the government of the United States have 
also established a precedent, as it appears to me decidedly in 



14 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

point, and which they cannot but acknowledge, is that where 
Natchez and a part of the Mississippi Territory were held for 
many years by Spain, but claimed by the United States. 
While held by her, she sold and gave away the lands by a thou- 
sand different grants, all of which grants, with all the acts of 
the Spanish government, (by an act as late as July of the 
present year, in a paper at the last session of Congress, to 
which I refer you,) have been ratified and confirmed by the 
government of the United States, up to the day on which they 
obtained possession. 

Notwithstanding that it has been fully proven at the running 
of the line of demarcation by Elliot, and by the delivery of the 
country in dispute, afterwards, by Spain to the United States, 
that she, Spain, had committed acts of sovereignity over a 
country which did not belong to her, and to inflict which she 
had no pretensions, the government of the United States, in 
its justice, not being willing that individuals should suffer by 
the acts of a sovereign power whilst that power held the 
country, and it remained in dispute, a subject of contention, 
confirmed all the acts of the government of Spain. 

And I perceive with much pleasure that this decided and 
wise policy of our government is consonant to, and coincides 
with, the doctrine laid down by all the celebrated writers on 
public law ; who set forth that individuals should never be 
made to suffer loss under an act of a government where a 
country or territory was in dispute as to boundary — all acts of 
the government in possession, where individuals were con- 
cerned, being valid and obligatory on the government claim- 
ing and establishing its pretensions, the governments having 
their reasons for indemnity against one another, not against 
individuals. 

I will now, sir, intrude still further upon your time, and 
prove to you, and to the government, that neither France nor 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH I5 

SjDain ever considered the Baton Rouge district as forming a 
part of Louisiana, as retroceded by Spain to France. 

Spain never contemplated giving it up to France, as form- 
ing a part thereof, as she had given orders in respect to that 
district long before the United States became a party in that 
transaction by purchasing from France ; nor did France claim 
or expect to receive it. On the contrary, she acknowledged 
she had no claim to it under the treaty of St. Ildefonso, by 
which she acquired Louisiana from Spain, she only expecting 
to receive, in virtue of a retrocession from Spain, that which 
she had formerly delivered to her under a cession. 

The government of Spain, on the 15th of October, 1802, 
expecting France to take possession of Louisiana (according to 
the treaty of St. Ildefonso), gave orders in consequence to her 
officers here for the delivery of the country, and instructed them 
to issue a proclamation to the inhabitants, inviting them to re- 
move with the government into the district of Baton Rouge, 
offering them every facility, with grants of land, etc., etc. 

A proclamation to that effect was issued by the Marquis 
Cassacalvo and the Governor Salceda, on the i8th day of May, 
1803, inviting all Spanish subjects to remove into the Baton 
Rouge district, promising all those attached to the government 
land grants, and offering, to every one who wished to purchase, 
lands in the city of New Orleans, only eighteen days after the 
treaty was made in Paris for the purchase of Louisiana between 
France and the United States of America. 

Consequently that event could not have been known, either 
here or in Spain in Europe, at that period. Even in Paris it 
was not known, being kept secret by consent of both parties 
until its ratification by the American government should have 
taken place. 

This document, sir, is proof positive of the intention of 
Spain not to have given up Baton Rouge to France, that dis- 



l6 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

trict not being included in the retrocession made to her of 
Louisiana, Spain not having received it from her on the cession 
of that country to her by France. 

The order of the King of Spain to the Marquis Somerue- 
los, dated Barcelona, 15th of October, 1802, for the delivering 
of Louisiana to France, is in these words : 

"Charles, by the grace of God, King, &c., &c., having 
thought proper to retrocede to the French Republic the colony 
and province of Louisiana, I hereby order you immediately on 
your receipt of this, by the General Victor, or any other officer 
of that Republic duly authorized, to deliver up and put him in 
possession of Louisiana and its dependencies, as also the town 
and island of New Orleans, with the same extent which it 
actually has, and which it had when held by France when 
ceded to my Royal Crown, &c., &c." Signed by Me, the 
King, and countersigned, Pedri Cevallos, and the proclamation 
court of Spain appointed by the Marquis Someruelos for the 
delivering of Louisiana to France. Promulgated on the i8th 
day of May, 1803, in the city of New Orleans ; actually defines 
its limits on the east ; the Manshack, or Iberville, the American 
line, would remain in the possession of Spain, (it not forming a 
part of Louisiana,) in which districts Spanish subjects were in- 
vited to remove from Louisiana, &c., &c. 

Another most important document, sir, (and which is 
proof conclusive that Spain delivered to France, in entire ful- 
fillment of the treaty of St. Ildefonso, all the territory which 
she held a right to, and which France claimed as making part 
of Louisiana and to her full satisfaction acknowledged by her,) is 
the Process Verbal, made in the city of New Orleans on the 
30th day of November, 1803, on the retaking of possession of 
Louisiana by France, in virtue of the treaty of St. Ildefonso, 
signed and acknowledged by the different commissioners of 
France and Spain : by the citizen Laussat, colonial Prefect, on 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH IJ 

the part of the Republic, and by the Marquis Cassacalvo and 
the Governor Salceda, on the part of Spain. 

This document sets forth (after an exchange of powers, 
between the commissioners, &c., &c.) : "That the said Mar- 
quis Cassacalvo, and Don M. Salcedo, do thereby declare that 
in virtue of the orders of the King of Spain, dated at Barcelona, 
on the 15th day of October, 1802, and countersigned by His 
Excellency Don Pedro Cevallos, principal secretary, counsellor 
of state for the delivering of Louisiana, and in entire fulfillment 
thereof, they now deliver to, and place from this moment, the 
said commissioner of France, the said Laussat, in possession of 
the colony and province of Louisiana and its dependencies, as 
also of the town and island of New Orleans, with the extent 
which it now actually possesses and such as it had in the hands 
of France as ceded to the Royal Crown of Spain, &c., &c." 

I now beg leave to refer you, sir, to the treaty of Paris of 
the 30th of April, 1803, by which the United States acquired a 
title to and obtained possession of Louisiana : 

"Article i. Whereas, by the third article of the treaty 
concluded at Saint Ildefonso, on the first day of October, 1800, 
between the First Consul and his Catholic Majesty, it is con- 
nected as follows : His Catholic Majesty promises and engages 
on his side to retrocede to the French Republic, six months 
after the entire and full execution of the conditions and stipu- 
lations as following relative to the Duke of Parma, the Colony 
and Province of Louisiana, with the same extent which it at 
present has in the hands of Spain, and which it had when 
possessed by France, &c., &c. The First Consul, desirous of 
giving to the United States a proof of his friendship, cedes, in 
the name of the French Republic, in virtue of the aforesaid 
treaty, concluded with his Catholic Majesty, &c., &c." 

Permit me now, sir, to ask you if any treaties, any state 
papers or documents, could be more clear and explicit, every 



l8 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

one of them containing and repeating the same expressions, 
than the order of the King of Spain for the deHvery of the 
country to France, the proclamation of the commissioners of 
Spain to the inhabitants of Louisiana, and the Pi'ocess Verbal 
drawn up by the different commissioners of France and Spain ? 

Nothing. No papers can be more clear, more full, more 
conclusive. They are proof, demonstrative, of the understanding 
and construction put on the different treaties made between 
France and Spain relative to the limits of Louisiana on the 
east by those powers. 

It was in consequence, sir, of that proclamation, issued, as 
I have before stated to you, by the commissioners of Spain for 
the delivery of Louisiana to France, in the city of New Or- 
leans and on the i8th day of May, 1803, (which proclamation 
is, no doubt, in the archives of the government here, a copy 
of which I will procure and forward you,) that purchase of 
land was made of the Spanish government in the district ; no 
suspicion existing, that the government of the United States 
had or could have any claims on that country as forming a part 
of Louisiana included in their purchase by the treaty of Paris 
on the 30th of April, 1803. 

It would be, sir, a most unpleasant event, and one which I 
hope we may never be obliged to resort to, for the claimants of 
those lands, American citizens, to be obliged to contest their 
rights against the government of the United States, but which 
they would do to the end of time if forced to it. 

That district is still a matter of discussion and negotiation 
between the three governments. The United States is one of 
three parties in the transaction ; one of four parties, I may say, 
as Great Britian, the ally and guarantee of Spain, of conse- 
quence becomes a party ; which government has already 
formally entered the protest of the Prince Regent to the act of 
taking possession of that district by our government. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 19 

France and Spain deny the claims of the United States. 
But in the meantime our government has taken possession of 
a part of the territory in dispute, not the whole. Therefore, as 
the case stands, there are two parties against one ; and we have 
lately seen, only a month since, the Governor of Pensacola, by 
the orders of his government, send and demand of Governor 
Clayborne that Baton Rouge and the part of Florida held by 
our government be immediately delivered up to the Spanish 
government, stating that in case of refusal his orders would 
oblige him to take it by force. 

I would ask you, sir, in an attempt of that kind, whether 
it would not be of the first importance that the inhabitants of 
that district should be satisfied and attached to the government 
of the United States, ready and willing to turn out and defend 
it. You will recollect, sir, that the whole of that district is 
much exposed. It is the frontier of our state, with an extensive 
seaboard, the whole of which is open to an invading enemy, and 
contains, between the Mississippi and the Perdido, a bold and 
hardy militia, amounting to at least six thousand in number 
able to carry arms. 

The claim of the United States, I am fearful, sir, from the 
view I have taken of the subject, cannot be supported against 
Spain. The government of the United States, by the con- 
struction they put on the treaty by which they acquired Louis- 
iana from France, claims that district as far east as the river 
Perdido as being a part of Louisiana included in that purchase. 
Whether, sir, by that treaty, the government of the United 
States acquired a title to that district from France, or not, I 
shall not presume to determine. But I would ask you, if 
France has sold a territory to which she had no right or title, to 
the United States, does that give the United States a just right 
to it ? Certainly not. 

Having now, I presume, sir, satisfied you, by the foregoing 



20 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

statement of facts and proofs, that neither France nor Spain 
ever considered the country lying between the American line 
and Iberville, and the lakes Maurepa and Pontchartrain, and 
the rivers Mississippi and Perdido, as forming a part of Louis- 
iana, I will now go on to prove to your entire satisfaction, I 
trust, that our country never was part of Louisiana ; that at all 
times (prior to the definitive and general treaty of peace of 
Paris of 1763, by which that country was confirmed to Great 
Britian) it was claimed by Great Britian as being part of her 
North America possessions on the Mississippi. 

The lines between the territories of Great Britian and 
Louisiana belonging to France never had been established by 
treaty, and had been at all times a subject of misunderstanding 
and dispute between the two countries. France claimed all the 
country on the leftside of the river, under the title of Louisiana, 
and England claimed as belonging to her, all the country on the 
left bank of the river Mississippi, excepting only the island of 
New Orleans. 

Finally, that country, as claimed by Great Britian, was 
acknowledged by the court of France to belong to Great 
Britian. In consequence, it was left in her possession, and con- 
firmed to her by treaty, under lines laid down and fully 
expressed, which forever established the boundaries of Louis- 
iana and the territories of Great Britian on the Mississippi. 

In proof, sir, of what I have asserted, I beg leave to take 
you back to the year 1761, and remind you of the war carried 
on at that time, with so much violence, in America as well as 
in Europe, between France and Great Britian. In the course 
of that year a proposal for peace was made by the court of 
France through the mediation of the Spanish monarch, which 
was favorably received by Great Britian ; in consequence a 
minister at each court was appointed to carry on the negotia- 
tions. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 21 

On the i5Lh of July of that year, after vai'ous propositions 
had been received on each side, the court of France handed in 
a memorial to that of Great Britian, wherein, amongst other 
propositions which she makes as a basis for a definitive treaty 
of peace, is the ibllowing : "That the limits of Canada and 
Louisiana should be ascertained in such manner as to preclude 
all possibility of disputes on this subject after peace should be 
re-established." 

Several additional proposals were made on each side, 
when France gave in her ultimatum, to the proposals of 
Great Britian, which was answered the latter end of August 
by the court of Great Britian, who transmitted to France 
final articles insisted on by her. The second of these 
articles is in the following words : 

"Article 2. As for the line drawn from Rio Perdido, con- 
tained in a notification delivered by Monsieur De Bussy on the 
1 8th day of August, concerning the limits of Louisiana, his 
Majesty cannot but reject such an unexpected proposal as alto- 
gether inadmissible on these two accounts : 

"The said line, under color of fixing the limits of Louis- 
iana, includes in that province extensive countries which, with 
the posts and forts that command them, the Marquis De Van- 
dreuil hath surrendered by the most solemn capitulation to his 
Britannic Majesty under the definition of Canada. Conse- 
quently, however contentious the respective pretensions of the 
two crowns might have been before the war, particularly with 
respect to the course of the Ohio and the territory adjacent, all 
the contending titles are settled since the surrender of Canada. 

"The line proposed for ascertaining the limits of Louisiana 
cannot be admitted, because it would comprehend, on the side 
of Carolina, very extensive countries and numerous nations, 
which have always been considered as under the protection of 
the King, a connection which his Majesty has no intention to re- 



22 INTERESTING PAPERS OE JOHN M DONOGH 

nounce, thoiicrh, for the benefit of peace, he might consent to 
leave the intermediate countries that are under the protection 
of Great Britian, more particularly those inhabited by the 
Cherokees, Creeks, Chickisaws, Choctaws, and other nations 
situated between the British Settlements and the Mississippi." 

Those articles insisted on by the British government as 
the basis of the treaty, of which the foregoing was one, were 
replied to by a new memorial to the court of London, dated the 
9th day of September. In this the French King accedes to the 
limits and bounds of Louisiana as laid down and insisted on by 
the English Monarch, in the following words: 

"The first paragraph concerning the limits of Louisiana, 
contained in the second article of England's answer, is allowed 
by France. The second paragraph is neither just nor clearly 
expressed. It is proposed, therefore, that it shall be definitely 
explained in the following terms. The intermediate Indian 
nations situated between the Lakes and the Mississippi, within 
the line described, shall be neutral and independent, under the 
protection of the King of France, and those without the line, 
on the side of the English posessions, shall also be neutral and 
independent, under the protection of the King of England." 

To this memorial, which was delivered to the British gov- 
ernment on the 1 8th day of September, 1761, the British min- 
istry made no reply. Their minister was called from Paris 
and the negotiation for peace was thus broken off. 

I have now, I trust, sir, by the foregoing statement of facts, 
for the correctness of which I refer you to the third chapter, 
fifth book, fourth volume of SmoUet's History of England, 
proved to you, as I before asserted, that the limits of Louisiana 
had long remained undefined and a source of misunderstanding 
and dispute between the crowns of Great Britian and France. 

It now only remains for me to prove that the territory in 
dispute, lying between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers, and 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 23 

claimed by the United States as being a part of her purchase 
from France, never formed a part of Louisiana. 

This I have already done in part, by the foregoing state- 
ment of claims and acknowledgments of the courts of Great 
Britian and France, establishing the fact that, Louisiana never 
having been defined, its limits were long a subject of dispute. 

I will now complete the proof by referring you to the 
seventh article of the definitive treaty of peace, concluded at 
Paris on the tenth day of February, 1763. The. basis of this 
treaty, it was agreed by the respective courts of France and 
Great Britian, should be taken from the proposals and cor- 
respondence which had taken place, in the course of the nego- 
tiations between the courts of France and Great Britian in the 
year 1761, between France, Great Britian, Spain and Portugal, 
which irrevocably and forever established the limits of Louisi- 
ana, and is in these words : 

"Article yth. In order to re-establish peace on solid and 
durable foundations, and to remove forever all subjects of dis- 
pute with regard to the limits of the British and French terri- 
tories on the continent of America, it is agreed that, for the 
future, the confines between the dominions of his Britannic 
Majesty and those of his most Christian Majesty in that part 
of the world, shall be fixed irrevocably by a line drawn along 
the middle of the river Mississippi from its source to the river 
Iberville, and from thence, by a line drawn along the middle of 
this river and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the sea, 
and for this purpose the most Christian King cedes in full right 
and guarantees to his Britannic Majesty the river and port of 
the Mobile, and everything which he possesses or ought to 
possess on the left side of the river Mississippi, except the town of 
New Orleans and the island on which it is situated, which shall 
remain to France, &c., &c." 

Thus, sir, did the treaty of '63 give form and shape to 



24 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN m'DONOGH 

Louisiana, establishing forever its limits on the east by a defined 
line, as anterior to that period it was a country vague and un- 
defined by lines or treaty, and consequently a subject of con- 
tinual dispute between the contending crowns. 

To elucidate the subject still further, and to place it in as 
plain a point of view as possible, I will presume, sir, a little 
longer on your time and attention. 

On the third day of November, in the year 1762, France 
ceded to Spain, by a secret convention, the country of Louisi- 
ana, with the town and Island of New Orleans. This cession 
was not known in France until the year '64. In the treaty of 
'63, France, in speaking of Louisiana, mentions it as a province 
still belonging to her. At that time, the King, in his letter from 
Versailles, dated 21st April, 1764, to Monsieur D'Abadie, the 
governor of the province, instructs him that, having ceded to 
his brother of Spain the country of Louisiana, he thereby 
orders him to make the delivery thereof with the town and 
island of New Orleans. 

Those documents, sir, alone, are proofs positive, if no others 
existed, of the limits of Louisiana. Louisiana was ceded to 
Spain in 1762 ; she obtained possession in 1764. Did she re- 
ceive the Baton Rouge district ? No, she did not. It was in 
possession and held in sovereignty at that time under an old 
claim as a part of her North America possessions, and confirmed 
to her as such by the treaty of 1763 by Great Britain. 

Did Spain protest on her not receiving the Baton 
Rouge district ? Did she claim it as a part of Louisiana ceded 
to her in 1762? Neither; she neither claimed it nor protested 
against its being held by Great Britain. On the contrary she 
was one of the contracting powers in the treaty of '63, which 
confirmed that country to Great Britain. 

Spain afterwards acquired that country by right ot con- 
quest. Having declared war against Great Britain in the year 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 25 

1 779) Spain in that and the two succeeding years reduced un- 
der her dominions Natchez, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Pensacola, 
and St. Augustine, and at the peace of Versailles which fol- 
lowed the whole of east and west Florida was confirmed to her 
by treaty by Great Britain. 

By the treaty of St. Ildefonso, Spain retroceded Louisiana 
to France such as she received it from her. The words of one 
treaty are cession of the other retrocession. Now, sir, what is 
the meaning attached to these words ? Is retrocession the act 
of giving back or returning that which had been received ? If 
so, I ask then, did Spain receive that district from France ? 
I answer, no, she did not ; consequently, France can have no 
title to Baton Rouge and that district, nor can the United States, 
claiming under a title derived from her. The title rests in 
Spain. 

But if our government received a title from France to 
that district, she of course has a claim upon her for indemnifi- 
cation for selling to her that which was not hers, and to which 
she had no title. By the correspondence of our government 
with that of France on the subject of this claim, you will find, 
sir, that Monsieur Talleyrand informed our minister at Paris, 
that he was instructed to say that France never had received 
from Spain any title to Baton Rouge and that district, and of 
consequence never could have sold, and never intended to sell, 
to the United States that which was not hers and to which she 
received no right. 

I repeat to you, sir, that the holders of those lands have 
been much injured by the claim of the government, keeping 
their rights in a state of suspense. They look with confidence 
to you, knowing your knowledge of the land claims of the 
country, and your zeal, proved on so many occasions, to 
have their rights established, at the ensuing Congress, by a law 
confirming all acts of the Spanish Government up to January 



26 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

1811, at which time they took possession of Baton Rouge. 
And they trust that justice and a wise poHcy will second your 
exertions in their cause in the councils of the nation. 
I have the honor to be, sir, 

With the highest consideration, 

Respectfully, &c., &c., 

John McDonogh. 

P. S. I have the honor, sir, to observe still further in 
explanation of my title deeds from the Spanish Government, 
that the original grant to me of those lands, with the order of 
survey to the surveyor general of Louisiana was made and dated 
in the year 1803, and that the surveys were actually made and 
finished in that year, although, owing to the great mass and 
press of business, my title papers were not expedited and 
completed until 1804, 

Most respectfully, sir, 

J. McD. 

Note. In proof of my assertion "That the government of 
the United States would not be benefited in setting aside Span- 
ish titles in existence for a great proportion of the lands in 
both east and west Florida, but particularly in that part of west 
Florida claimed by the United States, which of consequence 
in that event would come in and stand good," I beg leave to 
add the testimony given on this head by SmoUet, in his con- 
tinuation of Hume's History of England, in the eighth chapter, 
fifth book, fourth volume, and 416th page of his work, to 
which I refer you : 

"On the 2 1 St of November, 1763, the commissioners for 
trade and plantations gave public notice that all the lands in 
the provinces of east and west Florida should be surveyed and 
laid out into townships not exceeding twenty thousand acres 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 27 

each. Those townships, or any portions of them, were to be 
granted to persons who were willing to enter into reasonable 
engagements to settle the lands within a limited time and at 
their own expense with a proper number of useful, industrious, 
Protestant inhabitants upon the same moderate conditions of 
quit rent and cultivation as are required in other colonies. 

"The soil of those lands was adapted to the raising of silk, 
cotton, wine, oil, indigo, cochineal with the like commodities, 
and notwithstanding all the reports that had been propagated 
to their disadvantage, a vast number of families complied with 
the terms of the offer, and those provinces soon bade fair to be 
among the most flourishing belonging to the British dominions." 

I have the honor to be. 

Your humble servant, 
The Hon. A. B. Magruder, John McDonogh. 

Senator from the 

State of Louisiana. 



TO HON. HENRY JOHNSON, MEMBER CONGRESS. 

New Orleans, January 14, 1819. 
Dear Sir : — 

I had the pleasure of addressing you on the 30th ult., since 
when I am without a line from you. Our legislature assembled 
on the 4th inst., and on the nth elected Mr. James Brown to 
fill the vacancy occasioned by the expiration of the term of 
Mr. Froment in the Senate of the United States. 

I will not say in what way his election was obtained. 
4 



2S INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

His being elected was the surprise of every one. He has talents, 
but nothing is expected Irom his labors. No confidence is 
placed in him. 

The report of the Secretary of the Treasury to Congress 
of a plan for the settlement of the land claims of Florida has 
not yet reached us. It is looked for with much anxiety. The 
history of the land claims of that district, you, sir, of course, 
are perfectly acquainted with. The memorial of the Louisiana 
legislature to Congress in 1817 having given a complete expo- 
sition of them, it is unnecessary for me to say more on the 
subject. 

Information from a source entitled to confidence, and of the 
highest respectability, assured us several months since, that in 
the outlines of an arrangement for the setdement of all our 
differences with Spain, made at Washington in May last 
between the Executive and Don Onis, (which outlines were 
forwarded to Spain,) the government of the United States 
engaged by a special article to confirm all titles to land made 
by Spain in east and west Florida, to the dates of taking 
possession of the respective parts thereof by the United States, 
excepting only two or three grants, made lately by the court 
of Spain in east Florida to some Spanish noblemen, of nearly 
the whole of that province, which grants Spain contracted to 
annul. 

And report says the only reason this arrangement was not 
acted on at Madrid, and followed by a treaty, was the arrival 
there at the same moment of the news of the taking of Pensa- 
cola by the American forces. 

I make mention to you, sir, of this report, merely to say 
that, if true, notwithstanding that no treaty was based on the 
arrangement, the United States can never contest the land 
claims of Florida, nor reject a law to establish them, after 
having thus formally agreed to confirm them. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 2g 

The Secretary of the Treasury, as one of the cabinet, was 
of course acquainted with the arrangement, if such a one took 
place, and I should be happy to learn from you, sir, the truth 
or incorrectness of this report. 

Our state is much interested in the revival of some of the 
late laws of Congress, and in the passing of others, some few of 
which I will take the liberty of mentioning to you. 

On the third of March, 1811, Congress passed a law giving 
to the front proprietors on water courses in Louisiana the right 
of purchasing to the extent of thirty arpents back of the tract 
owned by them, and limited the duration of the law, I think, 
to two years, within which term subscriptions were to be made, 
and pointed out the mode of appointing the officers who were 
to receive the subscriptions, &c., &c. 

This law expired without ever having been carried into 
effect in this district. The office was never opened under it, 
the officers appointed never appeared, and no individual ever 
had it in his power to subscribe under it. Mr. Robertson was 
repeatedly informed of it, and he promised not only to have 
the law revived, but to do more, to have one passed containing 
the second depth as a donation. This the proprietors were 
certainly entitled to, as under the ancient government they had 
only to ask for it to obtain it. 

But it appears he neglected it, for he neither did one nor 
the other. It is therefore, sir, highly important to revive this 
law, extending merely the time for subscribing, pointing out the 
mode of opening the office, appointing officers, &c. Congress 
cannot object to it, as the first never was carried into effect, and 
never was acted on ; at least not in this district. Whether it 
was in the western district or not I cannot say. 

The revival of this law forms also a part of the prayer of 
the memorial of the legislature of this state to Congress in 1817. 
The revival of the law for the enregistering of land claims 



30 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

throughout tlie state also formed a part of the prayer of said 
memorial, and is much desired, as a great many claims, as well 
in this district as in Florida, are yet unregistered, owing in a 
measure to the French and Spanish inhabitants being unac- 
quainted with our language, and ignorant of the law relative to 
their land claims. Congress of course cannot hesitate to extend 
the term of enregistering six or twelve months longer. 

In the bill introduced by Mr. Brown in the Senate of the 
United States two years since, for the settlement of the Florida 
land claims, (which was so generally deprecated throughout 
the state,) it was observed that it provided not only for the 
confirmation of all British titles, but for the incomplete French 
or Spanish titles to the extent of twelve hundred arpents only, 
whereas all former laws of the United States confirm, through 
every other part of Louisiana, the incomplete French or Spanish 
title to the extent of a league square. 

It is therefore expected, in any law that may be passed in 
relation to the subject, that the claimants in Florida will be 
placed at least on a footing with those of the other parts of 
Louisiana. 

No law has yet been enacted by Congress providing Ibr the 
sale of public lands in this state, A hardy population on our 
western border is greatly to be desired. The safety and pros- 
perity of the state indeed require it, and the sooner it is pro- 
cured the better. But the only mode by which it can be 
accomplished is that of throwing the public lands into the 
market. 

Why such a measure has been delayed so long has excited 
general surprise. It is one of primary importance to our state, 
I am aware, sir, that it is unnecessary to call your attention to 
the claims of those gentlemen who suffered by the British in- 
vasion in the late war, as you have already devoted yourself to 
the subject. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 3 1 

I will, therefore, only observe, that the greater part of the 
claims yet unliquidated, and particularly those of Governor 
Villere, Messrs. Jumonville, DeVilliers, Lacoste, Duverje, 
Lefebvre, &c., are of that description which come completely 
in the late law of Congress on the subject, and stand on the 
same footing with those which have been already paid. 

I cannot but observe, whilst on the subject, that even as 
relates to those claims which have been already paid, a most 
extraordinary course has been pursued by the auditors at 
Washington. After having fulfilled, not only the letter, but 
the spirit of the law, in every respect, by commissioners here, 
noways interested, who took the necessary testimony, made 
estimations, &c., not a single claimant received the whole 
amount of his claim. Some were allowed three-fourths of the 
amount, some one-half, and many others but the one-fourth or 
one-fifth part of the amount of their claim. 

On what principle the auditors acted, I cannot conceive. 
The claimants were entitled to the whole of their claims, justly 
substantiated under the law, or they were entitled to nothing. 
I am decidedly of the opinion that they have a just claim for, 
and should be paid the amounts deducted from, their several 
accounts. 

I am pleased to find that the general government has 
made the slaves belonging to our citizens, carried away by the 
British at the evacuation of our state and after the conclusion 
of peace off our territory, a subject of reclamation and negoti- 
ation, under the treaty with that government. 

The claim is a correct one, and no doubt will be met in a 
spirit of justice by the British government. At all events our 
citizens must be indemnified by our own, if they are not by 
the British government, as no claim can be mpre strongly 
founded in justice than theirs is. 

Being perfectly acquainted with the nature of those claims, 



32 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

having had a personal agency in relation to them, I will sketch 
you in a few lines their history, as, notwithstanding your 
acquaintance with it, there may be circumstances in relation to 
it of which you are not fully aware. 

At the evacuation of the island of Orleans by the British 
army in 1815, the naval and military commanders of their 
forces carried away with them from the banks of the Missis- 
sippi to their rendezvous in Cat or Ship Island, I forget which, 
within our state, the slaves in question, the property of our 
fellow-citizens. These slaves were landed and detained on that 
island. The evacuation of the island of Orleans took place on 
the 19th of January of that year. 

Somewhere about the 25th to the 30th of the same month, 
the commander-in-chief of our army, General Andrew Jack- 
son, dispatched a flag of truce to the British fleet with three 
gentlemen, bearers of his dispatches, viz. : Edward Living- 
stone, his aid-de-camp, R. D. Shepherd, and W. White, 
Esqs., for the purpose of effecting an exchange of prisoners, as 
proposed by the British commanders, and of demanding the 
restoration of the slaves carried off". 

Whilst these gentlemen were on board the fleet, a dispatch 
frigate arrived from England, bringing the British commanders 
official accounts of the conclusion of peace between the two 
governments, and they succeeded in all the objects of their 
missioa. An arrangement took place for the exchange of 
prisoners, and the British commanders, both naval and military, 
assured these gentlemen that they were ready and willing to 
deliver the slaves, whenever their owners, or agents of the 
owners, would come to receive them. 

They stated further, that it had not been their wish to 
have brought the slaves away, that they came away with them 
at the evacuation without their knowledge or consent, and they 
were anxious to get clear of them, and to deliver them to their 



INTERESTIMG PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 33 

owners ; and they particularly requested those gentlemen to 
say to General Jackson, that if he would grant a flag of truce 
to their owners it should be respected and the slaves delivered 
to them, and that the fleet would not leave their then anchorage 
for a certain length of time (I think somewhere about a month 
from that day). 

Those gentlemen at the same time saw and conversed with 
many of the slaves, who all expressed the strongest desire to 
return to their masters. On the return of those gentlemen from 
the British fleet they reported to General Jackson the result of 
their mission, and informed the gentlemen, owners of the slaves 
in question, of the acquiescence of the British commanders in 
their demands for the restitution of the slaves, and of their 
willingness to deliver them up, recommending them to see 
General Jackson immediately, obtain a flag of truce, and pro- 
ceed without loss of time to the British fleet to receive them.. 

At this stage of the transaction I was called on by several 
of the gentlemen interested, to request, as they did not speak 
the English tongue, that I would be their organ in the interview, 
with General Jackson, for the purpose of requesting of him the 
necessary passports and flag of truce to enable them to pro- 
ceed to the British fleet to obtain their slaves. 

I acceded to their request, and informed them that, pre- 
vious to waiting on General Jackson, I would see the gentle- 
men who had just returned from the fleet, to be assured of the 
amount of the conversation held by them with the British com- 
manders. Accordingly I saw, in company with Mr. Jumon- 
ville, Messrs. Shepherd and White, who repeated to me all I 
have above stated. 

From the interview with those gentlemen, we proceeded 
to the headquarters of General Jackson, whom we found. 
There were several gentlemen with him, one of whom was Mr. 
Livingstone, his aid, just returned from the British fleet. 



34 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

I opened the conversaticjn with General Jackson by in- 
forming him that I waited on him as the organ of those 
gentlemen who had had their slaves carried off by the British, 
for the purpose of requesting passports and a flag of truce for 
them to proceed to the British fleet to obtain them ; and 
finished by stating to him the willingness and desire of the 
British commanders to deliver them, as reported by the 
gentlemen of his own family, who had had a personal under- 
standing with them on the subject. 

To my surprise and astonishment General Jackson posi- 
tively refused granting passports or a flag of truce, notwith- 
standing all I could urge to induce him, and my reiterated de- 
mand. The reason he gave for his refusal, and which he re- 
peatedly asserted before the gentlemen present, was, that the 
interests of his country did not permit him to grant it. 

As I asserted, sir, in the commencement, that no claims 
could be more strongly founded in justice than those are, and 
that the claimants must be indemnified by our own if they 
should not be so by the British government, I have gone into 
this exposition of them for the purpose of showing in what 
way a claim was acquired against our own government. 

All governments are responsible for the acts of their 
ofiicers. General Jackson, the commander-in-chief of this dis- 
trict, and at that time supreme dictator, as he had put down 
all other authority and declared martial law, declared that the 
interests of his country did not permit him to grant passports 
to the owners of those slaves to go and receive them. 

They were consequently sacrificed to the general good 
for the safety of the whole, and the general government is 
of consequence responsible, and must indemnify their owners. 
Individuals in such a case cannot suffer a loss. 

That the claim, however, is a valid one, and one that the 
British government is bound to meet under the treaty, and 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 35 

cannot avoid paying, there is no doubt. Proof can be addu- 
ced, by hundreds of individuals, that the slaves were taken 
away by the British fleet, from off the American territory, at a 
period four or five weeks subsequent to their having received 
the official account of peace between the two governments, 
and upwards of three months after the date of the treaty of 
Ghent. 

For further elucidation of the subject, I refer you to 
papers left by S. H. Harper, Esq., as he informs me, in the 
hands of Messrs. Lee and Wallack, of Washington, and 
particularly to certificates of Messrs. Shepherd, White, and 
myself. 

As the President of the United States and Congress ap- 
pear to be at issue relative to the constitutionaHty of appro- 
priating bylaw the public moneys for the carrying on of canals, 
&c., it may be premature to move the subject at this moment. 
But as it appears to be the general opinion the question 
will be decided this session, and that Congress has that right, 
I will beg leave to observe, that should it be so decided, I trust 
and hope that Louisiana, having equal rights with the other 
states to be benefited thereby, will come in for a participation 
of the advantages. 

There is no other state in the Union where greater bene- 
fit would be derived from their formation, and none where 
canals can be formed with such facility and ease, nature having 
done so much towards it in our favor. 

For the present I will confine myself to the pointing out 
to you two lines on which canals can be formed, although 
several others of much importance can be shown, which would, 
if executed, be of the greatest value, not only to this but to 
the general government, and tend mostly to the benefit of our 
state. 

One is about five miles from the city of New Orleans, on 



36 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

the left bank of the Mississippi, to commence on the river and 
extend through the plantation of Governor Villere, a distance 
of three or four miles on a straight line, to communicate with 
the Bayou Bienvenu, which bayou falls into Lake Borgne and 
the sea to the east of the Mississippi. 

This canal, already in part executed, could be accom- 
plished at an expense of one hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
lars. Vessels could come through it into the Mississippi draw- 
ing seven to eight feet of water. They now come in its present 
state within that distance of the river, there being, I am told, 
never less than seven feet of water on the bar where it joins 
Lake Borgne. 

By casting your eye on the map of Louisiana, you will at 
once see the situation of this bayou, and the advantages it 
offers in being opened, the bayou itself being a handsome river 
of a hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in width. The 
general government is greatly interested in opening this com- 
munication with the Mississippi, as through it they could intro- 
duce their armed vessels, gunboats, &c. 

That the advantage which would be enjoyed from such 
a channel of communication is seen by the general government, 
I have only to observe, is proved by their having, many years 
since, appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars as a donation 
to the Navigation Company of this city, whenever they would 
extend the Carondelet Canal into the Mississippi, so as to give 
a free ingress and egress to their gunboats from Lake Pont- 
chartrain. 

But as that canal has but four feet of water, and never can 
have any more, owing to the depth of the lake, where the 
Bayou Saint John communicates with it, the compan)' never 
will be able to take advantage of this appropriation in its favor. 

Were the canal formed which I have just pointed out, not 
only would the general government be greatly benefited in 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 37 

relation to their marine, but it would be a source of great 
revenue, as through it the whole commerce with the Floridas 
would be carried on, as well as a great part of that with Cuba, 
the coasting trade of the Atlantic board, &c. 

The second canal line to which I will draw your attention, 
should commence on the right bank of the Mississippi, 
immediately in front of the city of New Orleans, and, extend- 
ing back about six miles, communicate with the Bayou Villar, 
a considerable stream which joins the river and Lake 
Barataria and communicates with the sea to the west of the 
Mississippi. 

This canal is also in part executed, and could be com- 
pleted at an expense of a hundred and fifty to two hundred 
thousand dollars, so as to bring vessels drawing six or eight 
feet of water through it into the Mississippi. 

The general government is also much interested in open- 
ing this communication with the Mississippi from the sea to the 
westward for their armed vessels. It would also be a source of 
great revenue, as the whole of the commerce of the Gulf of 
Mexico would be carried on through it, as well as the internal 
commerce of the western counties of the state, the lower La 
Paniche, Attakapas, and Opelousas, as the whole of that 
part of the country is intersected by natural bayous commu- 
nicating with one another. 

There would then be a constant and regular intercourse 
throughout the year with those counties, whereas now there 
is no internal communication with them by water but for 
about four or five months during the high water of the 
Mississippi. For the residue of the year none of their pro- 
duce can reach us except by sea. 

On the decision of the question, should it be found, sir, 
that Congress has the constitutional right to carry on works of 
this nature, and you should determine to bring the subject 



38 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

forward in the Senate, I take the hberty of suggesting to you, 
(as the course no doubt would be that of naming gentlemen on 
the spot, men of science and knowledge, to survey the grounds 
over which it was contemplated to form the canals, and to report 
to the proper department their opinion of the practicability of 
forming them, the advantages to be derived from them, with an 
estimate of the expense, &c., ) the importance of not naming 
persons whose interests would be in opposition to the objects 
contemplated, and to insure the appointment of such persons 
only as are disinterested. 

Any members of our community may be selected, except 
such as are interested in the navigation company, either as stock- 
holders or directors. Their interests would, of course, be opposed 
to the opening of other canals, as it would take away from their 
revenue. At any time you may request it, I will forward you a 
list of the directors and stockholders of that institution. 

The defences of our state will also, sir, require your at- 
tention. Much is to be said on that subject. Those begun 
have made but small progress ; there is something wrong. 
Many of the workmen, I am told, desert for want of pay, as 
the government leaves its agent without money. If this is a 
fact, it is surprising indeed, when we reflect on the immense 
revenue of their customs here. 

I shall have the pleasure of addressing you again in a 
few days, sir, on other topics interesting to our state, as the 
present letter has already exceeded the length I had pre- 
scribed to myself 

With great respect, I have the honor to be, sir, 
Your most obedient and humble servant, 
John McDonogh. 



TO THE HON. GEORGE A. MAGRUDER. 

New Orleans, December, 1831. 
Dear Sir : 

The last time I had the pleasure of seeing you here, 
previous to your departure for Washington, you requested 
me to give you the history of the Florida land claims. 

This I should have done; but I was informed by our 
friend McFalsh, who is perfectly correct, a day or two there- 
after, that he had given you a note in relation to them, and had 
referred you particularly to the report of the case of Foster 
and David Nelson, decided in the Supreme Court of the United 
States, where its history is so fully explained that I consider 
anything further quite unnecessary. 

I will therefore, sir, merely observe in relation to them, that 
those titles are not common grants or concessions made to 
settlers, but purchases for valuable consideration, made in the 
years 1803, 1804, and 1805, of the government of Spain ; that 
the title went through all the forms of the social government of 
the country, were surveyed at great expense, and were sent to 
Spain, where they were confirmed by the king in council. 

Than those titles none are stamped with greater solemnity 
of character and form. And, to wind up, they were ratified 
and confirmed by the government of the United States itself, 
under the 8th article of the treaty with Spain in i8ig. It is 
unnecessary for me to say to you, sir, that the claimants here 
place all their hopes and confidence in you and in your 
exertions in their favor. 

Should the President recommend the subject in his message 
to Congress, the course to be taken will be a plain one. Should 
he not do so, it will be necessary to introduce a bill on the subject, 
or have a committee appointed to investigate, report, &c, &c. 



40 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

Whatever course may be taken, we beg of you to commence it 
without a moment's loss of time, otherwise it would not be gotten 
through the present session, notwithstanding it is the long one. 

We take the liberty of requesting you to advise with Mr. 
Livingston on the course to be pursued, as he is perfecdy 
acquainted with the natnre and justice of those claims, and he 
will aid you by all the means in his power. The President, 
perhaps, may be induced to forward a special message to Con- 
gress on the subject. Mr. Livingston, in a late communication, 
assured us it should be brought before Congress in such a way 
as to bring, he doubted not, a favorable result. 

The claimants propose, as you are aware, that Con- 
gress shall confirm our tide to the residue of the land on 
each tract, after deducting the quantity which the settlers 
are confirmed in, and indemnify us for the quantities taken 
from us by the settlers, by permitting us to locate equal 
quantities on other public lands within the state of Louis- 
iana. 

The Honorable Mr. Webster, of the Senate, we have no 
doubt, will assist you in every way in his power, perfectly ac- 
quainted as he is with the subject, as he was counsel for the 
claimants in the case of Foster and David Nelson ; as will also 
our friend Isaiah S. Johnston. 

I shall be happy, sir, to hear from you, and will thank you 
to forward me the report of the Secretary and Treasurer to 
Congress as soon as published. Command me at all times with- 
out ceremony, and believe me to be. 

With great respect and regard, 

Your most obedient and humble servant, 

John McDonogh. 



CONCERNING 
THE LIBERATION OF HIS SLAVES 

AND 
THE COLONIZATION OF LIBERIA 



MR. McDONOGH'S LETTER 
RELATING TO THE FREEING OF HIS SLAVES. 



[ Addressed to the New Orleans Commercial Bulletin. ] 

McDonogh, opposite New Orleans, 
July loth, 1842. 
Messrs. Editors, 

In a piece written by me in June last, on the subject of 
sending away some of my black people to Africa, and published 



Note. — In addition to the value which attaches to this paper on 
account of its discussion of the problem of emancipation, once so 
vital, but now happily no longer a living issue, this experiment of Mr. 
McDonogh possesses extraordinary interest for all students of social 
science. 

The principles of human nature are essentially the same in all 
races and conditions. What Mr. McDonogh says in regard to the 
relation of hope to the promotion of industry, thrift and morality, 
is of profound importance ; nor would it be difficult for those who 
consider and discuss the relations of employer and employee, of 
capital and labor, to find in this letter suggestions of the utmost 
value in the remarks regarding the necessity of mutual confidence 
and respect. 

This remarkable letter has never been referred to as a valuable 
contribution to social ethics, but it is respectfully commended to the 
consideration of the philosophers who are grappling with the prob- 
lems of society. Would not the application of the same principles 
which resulted in giving these black men their freedom, contribute 
in many cases to emancipate men from the slavery of idleness and 
poverty ? 



44 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

in your paper the 24th of that month, I observed "that the 
act of sending those people away is, in my case, one of 
simple honesty alone. I lay no claim, nor am I entitled, to 
any credit or praise on the score of generosity. 

"My meaning in the above assertion I will explain, Messrs. 
Editors, through your paper, should my leisure admit of it, at 
some future time, and the rather, as it may perhaps be of service 
to the slaveholders of the state, to know how one who has had 
much to do for the past forty years with the treatment of slaves 
has succeeded in it. 

"When they find, from my experience, that they can send 
their whole gangs to Africa, every fifteen years, without the 
cost of a dollar to themselves, what master will refuse to do so 
much good, when it will cost him nothing in the doing, and 
afford him at the same time such high gratification, in knowing 
that he has contributed to making many human beings happy ? 

"For my experience will show, that, with a proper treat- 
ment of slaves, the gain from their extra labor, that is, the 
labor over and above that which slaves in general yield their 
owners, in the course of that time, say fifteen years, will 
enable their master to send them out, and purchase in Virginia 
or Maryland, with the gain made from said extra labor, a gang 
of equal number to replace them. 

"In addition to which, what an amount of satisfaction, I 
would ask every humane master, would he not enjoy, in 
knowing that he was surrounded by friends, on whose faith- 
fulness and fidelity he and his family could rely, under 
every possible contingency ! 

In fulfillment of said promise, I now undertake to explain 
the observation I then made, "that the act of sending those 
people is in my case one of simple honesty alone," and to show 
the mode I pursued, after much experience and reflection on 
the subject, for many years, in their treatment, and its results. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 45 

Before commencing, however, this long detail of treatment, 
and its attending circumstances, I will premise, to those who 
feel an interest in the subject and will take the trouble to read 
this recital, that it is one of egotism throughout. It tells of what 
the master said and what he did, from the beginning of the 
chapter to its end. In this, therefore, I shall be excused. It is 
what I promised, and there is but one way of telling the story 
to make it intelligible. 

To proceed then and give you the plan that I laid down 
for myself, and have pursued for the last seventeen years, for 
the conduct and management of those I held in bondage, I 
have to observe, that, having at all times been opposed to 
laboring on the Sabbath day, except in cases of actual necessi- 
ty, one of my rules for their walk and guidance in life always 
was, that they should never work on that holy day, prohibited 
as we were from so doing by the Divine law. 

A long experience, however, convinced me of the impossi- 
bility of carrying it out in practice by men held in bondage, 
. and obliged to labor for their master six days in the week ; 
and I saw, on reflection, much to extenuate as to them the of- 
fense agains my rule. They were men, and stood in need of 
many little necessaries of life, not supplied by their master, and 
which they could obtain in no other way but by laboring on 
that day. 

I had therefore often to shut my eyes and not see the 
offense, though I knew my instructions on that head were not 
obeyed ; and in consequence, after long and fruitless exertions, 
continued for many years, to obtain obedience to that injunc- 
tion, I determined to allow them the one-half of Saturday, say 
Saturday from midday until night, to labor for themselves, 
under a penalty, well understood by them, of punishment for 
disobedience, if they violated thereafter the Sabbath day, and 
sale to some other master. -^ 



46 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

From this time, which was about the year 1822, the Sabbath 
day was kept holy. Church was regularly attended, forenoon 
and afternoon ; for I had a church built expressly for them on 
my own plantation, in which a pious neighbor occasionally 
preached on the Sabbath day, assisted by two or three of my 
own male slaves, who understood, preached, and expounded 
the Scriptures passably well ; and at times I read them a 
sermon myself. 

I perceived in a very short time a remarkable change in 
their manners, conduct, and life, in every respect for the 
better. We proceeded in this way, happy, prosperous, and 
blessed in every respect by the Most High, for about three 
years, or until 1825. 

They in general labored for myself, though permitted to 
labor for whom they pleased, giving the preference to their 
master, even at a less rate of wages, on whose honesty they 
could depend for payment ; for they were paid as regularly as 
the night came. 

In the long days of summer, I paid the men for their Satur- 
day afternoon labor at the rate of sixty-two and a half cents per 
day, the women at the rate of fifty cents per day. In the short 
days of winter, I paid the men at the rate of fifty cents per day, 
the women thirty-seven and a half cents per day, and the larger 
boys and girls in proportion. 

Seeing the amount of money which they gained by their 
Saturday afternoon labor, I was led to calculate in what length 
of time, by labor, economy, and perseverance in well-doing, 
they would be able to purchase the remaining five and a half 
days of the week, seeing they had a capital of their own, and 
by that means obtain freedom for themselves and their children. 

In this calculation I soon satisfied myself that it could be 
effected in the space of fourteen or fifteen years at the farthest. 
The next consideration with me was, "Is it my interest to assist 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 47 

them in ics accomplishment, or can I, by any means I can devise, 
make it become my interest to assist them to obtain their freedom 
in this time?" 

This also required reflection and calculation. I went at it, 
and in a very short time, from the clearest of all deductions, 
was convinced and satisfied that it could be done ; and that it 
was in every point of view that the subject could be looked at 
and considered, to my interest ; more especially when I took 
into view the considerations of satisfaction, pleasure, and 
happiness, which I should enjoy in promoting the happiness of 
others. 

When thus satisfied that the project was good in itself, 
and worthy of trial for various solid reasons, I determined to [ 
lay my plan before them, and explain it in all its bearings ; that I 
is, before some ten or twelve men and women — those men and 
women in whom the others had confidence, and to whom they 
looked up at all times, for their superior talents, capacities, and 
virtues, for counsel and advice. 

For it is the same with the black as with the white man. 
Assemble together for the first time twenty or fifteen white men, 
a company of soldiers, for instance, and within forty-eight 
hours after being brought together, though strangers to each 
other, the great majority will place their eyes on certain men 
among them, for their wisdom, courage, and virtue, to whom 
they, unknowingly to one another, determine to look up, as 
leaders or chiefs, to conduct, counsel, and advise them. 

This I did when church service was over, on a Sabbath 
afternoon ; observing to them, that, having their welfare and 
happiness, in this world as well as in the next, very much at 
heart, I was in consequence greatly desirous of serving them 
and their children ; that in furtherance of these views and 
desires, I had a plan to propose to them : 

"If you have confidence in the truth and honesty of your 



48 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

master, of his friendship to you, and sincere desire to serve 
you and do you good, I have a plan to propose. Except you 
have that confidence in him, and regard, friendship and esteem 
for him, there will be no use in saying a word more about it, or 
in attempting to carry out the plan I have to propose to you. 
For I notify you beforehand, it cannot succeed if the most un- 
limited confidence and esteem do not exist, as well as on the side 
of the master as of the servant. 

"This will from this day change the whole course of your 
lives, though I acknowledge, in justice to all, that I have no 
particular charge to make against the morality of your past 
lives and walk in love and fear of God. 

"If you and your children will be faithful, honest, true, 
sober, economical, industrious, not eye servants, laboring night 
and day, considering the affairs and interests of your master 
as the affairs, concerns, and mterests of each and every one of 
you individually, and all this with a fixed determination to per- 
severe in well-doing to the end, under every temptation 
that may assail you, and over every obstacle that may fall in 
your way, and will in everything be ruled, directed, and guided 
by me, I will then, in that case, and under this full agreement 
and understanding between us, undertake so to manage your 
affairs, by becoming your banker, the keeper of your gains, 
and of your accounts, as to assure your freedom, and that ot 

^^^ur children, with the blessings of the Most High. 

I "That is, your freedom in Liberia, the land of your fathers, 

I a great and glorious land. For let it be understood between 
us, it is your freedom in Liberia that I contract for. I would 
never consent to give freedom to a single individual among you, 

( to remain on the same soil as the white man. You can gain 
your freedom within the term, according to my estimate and 
calculation, of fifteen or sixteen years, or thereabouts, say a 
year or two sooner, or a year or two later. This will be effected 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 49 

in conformity with my plan and estimate, in the follpwing way. 

The one-half of Saturday being already your own, iiT" 
consequence of my agreement with you that no work should 
be done on the Sabbath day, your first object will be to gain a 
sufficient sum of money to purchase the other half of Saturday, 
which is one-eleventh part of the time you have to labor for 
your master, and of consequence the one-eleventh part of the 
value your master has put upon you, and which you have to 
pay him for your freedom. 

"This, I notify you, will be the most difficult part of your 
undertaking, and will take the longest time to accomplish. It 
is to be effected by laboring for me on Saturday afternoons, and 
leaving the amount of your labor in my hands to be husbanded 
for you. By foregoing everything yourselves, and drawing as 
little money as possible out of my hands, I calculate you will 
be able to accomplish it in about seven years. 

"That once accomplished, and one day out of six your 
own, you will go on more easily and rapidly. Indeed, that 
once effected, your success is certain. Proceeding then in 
your good work, you will be enabled easily, by your earnings 
on one entire day in each week, to effect the purchase of 
another day of your time, in about four years. _ 

"Now, master and owner of two days in each week, you 
will be able in two years more to purchase another day, so that 
three days, or the one half of your time, will be your own. In 
one and a half years more, you will be able to purchase 
another day, making four days your own ; in one year more, 
another, or the fifth day ; and in six months, the last day, or 
the whole of your time, will be your own. 

"Your gains in less than one year, added to what the 
youths have gained in the meantime, will suffice to free your 
children, and all will be accomplished. 

"In the foregoing estimate I calculate that you will draw 



50 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

from me, occasionally, some small sums of money to furnish such 
little necessaries as you may need. But you must remember 
that when one draws, the whole of you, each individual, must 
draw at the same time ; the men an equal part each, the women 
the three-fourths part each of the sum drawn by the men. 

"That you may be estimated at fair and reasonable prices 
— say the men at six hundred dollars each, the women at four 
hundred and fifty, and the boys, girls, and children in propor- 
tion — an account shall be made at once in my books, and your 
valuations charged. 

"No account will be taken of the increased values of the 
youth and children as they advance in age, and no child will 
be charged that shall be born after the commencement of this 
agreement. This is in some measure a counterbalance to an 
interest account, as none will be calculated or allowed you on 
the amount of your gains in my hands. 

"Such men and women as have no children of their own, 
when they have worked out their prices, shall be held and 
obliged to work and assist in paying for the children of others, 
so that the whole company shall go on the same day on board 
ship, and sail for your fatherland. 

"I expect, and shall insist on, strict performance of your 
moral and religious duties in every respect, and church regu- 
larly attended by you and your children, forenoon and afternoon, 
on the Sabbath day. 

"I would not agree to keep an immoral or bad servant, or 
one who would be obliged to be chastised for offenses, on any 
consideration. Should any of you therefore commit crimes at 
any time, while serving under this agreement, he or she will be 
immediately put up at public sale, ( their offenses declared and 
made known,) and sold ; and whatever money they had 
earned under this agreement shall go to the benefit of the others 
in general." 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 51 

I have now to state, that during the whole of the period 
that they were laboring for themselves, I had to sell, for con- i 
duct I could not pardon, but two individuals. This should not \ 
be considered strange, looking at the situation in which they 
were placed, in the vicinage of such a city as New Orleans, and 
oftentimes within its bosom for months together. 

Their surprise and astonishment at such a proposal, coming, 
as it did, from a master who had unlimited power over them 
and their time, they expecting nothing of the kind, may easily 
be conceived. They gave their consent with tears of joy, 
declared the confidence they entertained of my truth, honesty, 
and pure intentions to do them and their children good, and 
their willingness and determination to be guided in all things 
by me, and to make my will and my interest, after the Divine 
will, the study and rule of their lives. 

On separating, I told them to communicate my plan and pro- 
posals to their adult fellow servants, male and female, and to say 
to them, none were bound to come into the agreement who had 
any objection to it — that such as did not wish to accept it, should 
go under the old regulations. 

And I requested one and all of them to consult together 
through the week, and to give me their final answer and deter- 
mination on the next Sabbath in church, when it should be con- 
firmed or abandoned. 

At the same time I charged them, as they valued my 
affection, to keep what I had said to them (desirous as I was 
to avoid, by so doing, the making of the slaves on other plan- 
tations unhappy or discontented) in their own bosoms, and 
never to disclose it, until after they should have left for Africa, 
to a living being on earth. "Be content," said I to them, "with 
the good you are about to receive, and keep the knowledge of 
it to yourselves." This they promised me they would do, and 
I believe they religiously did. 



52 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

On the next Sabbath, I met them in church, and was told 
they had informed all their fellow servants of my views and in- 
tentions toward them, that they had well reflected during- the 
past week on all that I had said to them, that they were at a 
loss for words to express their love and gratitude to me for what 
I had done and was now desirous of doing for them and their 
children ; that they had always looked on me in the light of a 
father, deeply interested in their welfare, and that I was the only 
true friend they had on earth. 

They said further that they had accepted one and all the 
proposals I had made them, and were determined, with the 
assistance of the Most High, to make a change in life ; to live 
and walk in the Divine law ; to be guided, in all worldly con- 
duct, implicitly by my directions and counsel, and to fulfill with 
all the energy of their souls the agreement they had entered into 
with me. On this I observed to them that it was all well ; that 
the agreement and contract were concluded ; that we would, on 
both sides, master and servants, begin from that day to exe- 
cute and carry it out, and that I would put down in handwriting 
all that I had said to them, that no mistakes might arise there- 
after as to what I had said or what I had not said. 

"To put you, however, more fully in possession of my 
scheme for your benefit, to give you a more perfect under- 
standing of the contract which you are about to take on your- 
selves, so that in the carrying of it out complete success may 
attend it on both sides, and neither party, master nor slave, may 
be disappointed, I will inform you what I expect to realize, and 
how it is to be effected. 

"My object is your freedom and happiness in Liberia, with- 
out loss of a cent to myself from sending you away and conferring 
that boon, as the humble instrument of the Most High, on you 
and your children. How, you naturally inquire, is that to be 
done ? I will tell you how it is to be done. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 53 



f 

I 



"There is but one way, one mode to effect it, that I can 
see, or devise, and that is by greater assiduity and exertions in 
the slave to his labor during the usual hours of day labor, and 
especially by extra hours of labor before day in the morning, 
and after night in the evening. J 

"One hour after night in the evening, and one hour before 
day in the morning, would be two hours extra in twenty-four 
hours, which would be the one-sixth part more time devoted to 
labor than is generally demanded of the slave. This is equiva- 
lent to two years and a half of additional labor in fifteen years. 

"Two hours extra labor before day in the morning, and 
two hours after night in the evening, would be four hours 
extra in every twenty-four hours, which would be the one-third 
part more of time devoted to labor than is generally demanded 
of the slave. This would be equivalent to five years of addi- 
tional and extra labor in fifteen years. 

"Without a scheme of this kind," said I to them, "by means 
of which you can effect a greater amount of labor in a given 
time than you could otherwise do, I could not afford to send 
you out. Without it, my sending you to Liberia, under the 
agreement, and in the mode I propose of permitting you to 
gain your freedom by laboring during the time that belongs 
to your master, and by that means paying him for your time, 
though it appears specious in itself, would be, in reality, making 
you a present of your time— making you and your children a 
gift of your freedom. 

"For as the whole of your time belongs to your master, 
(the Sabbath day excepted, on which holy day neither master 
nor servant is permitted to labor,) if he was to permit you to 
work on a certain part of it, to make money to purchase your 
freedom, he would, in reality, in so doing, make you a gift of 
your freedom, which few masters could afford to do. 

"But in the mode which I now propose and explain to you, 



54 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

that you may fully understand it, which is the contract and 
ao-reement you are now making and taking on yourselves to 
perform, your master will not make you a present of an hour ot 
your time. 

"You, in reality, will have gained, and placed in his hands, 
previous to going out free, a sum of money, arising from your 
extra labor, fully sufficient to enable him to purchase an equal 
number of people with yourselves, man for man, woman for 
woman, and youth and child for youth and child, to take your 
place in the work of his farm, so that his work and revenue 
shall not be stopped or arrested for an hour, and to fit you out 
with all things necessary in your new life, should he think 
proper so to do, much to your advantage, respectability, and 
happiness, and to his satisfaction and honor. 

"For a humane master will delight in tending to the 
happiness of those whom the Most High has placed under his 
care, and who have served him truly and faithfully. 

"The only difference and change, then, which this arrange- 
ment will make in the affairs of your master, will be that he 
will have the same number of new servants, in the place and 
stead of his old and faithful ones, to do his work. You there- 
fore now see and fully understand what my scheme for your 
benefit is. It is feasible and can be easily accomplished, while 
it will tend, at the same time, to the happiness of your lives 
while carrying it out and putting it into execution. 

"I repeat to you again," said I to them, "that my plan is 
based on extra labor ; that you must consider none, day or 
night, too great for you to perform, remembering at the same 
time that it is not to be accomplished in a day, but will require 
years of perseverance in well-doing to effect it. On my part, 
you may depend upon my prudence not to involve myself by 
speculation or otherwise, with the Divine blessing, so as to 
put it out of my power to carry out the agreement. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 55 

"And I will take care, by keeping regular accounts of all 
your gains, and by instructions to my executors, in my last will 
and testament, should it please God, in whose hands all things 
are, to take me from life before the full accomplishment of the 
scheme, to have our agreement truly and fully executed, and 
justice rendered you, by selling you out as servants for a time, 
and then, after the expiration of your term of service, seeing 
that you and your children are sent out to Liberia." 

To all this, they, the whole of the adults, men and women, 
(no youth or child being present,) lent an attentive ear ; and 
again, with eyes streaming with tears, assured me of their full 
determination to devote their days and nights for the honor of 
God, the happiness of their children, and the carrying out of 
the plan I had devised for their benefit. It now remains for] 
me to state the results of the experiment. 

In less than six years the first half day was gained and 
paid for by them. In about four years, the next or second day 
of the week was paid for and became their own. In about two 
and a quarter years, the next or third day was paid for and 
made their own. In about fifteen months, the next day, or 
fourth, was theirs. In about a year, the next or fifth day was 
gained and paid for; and, in about six months, the last or sixth 
day of the week became their own, and completed the purchase 
— effecting their freedom in about fourteen and a half years. 

After this it took them somewhere about five months to 
labor, to pay the balance due on their children, added to what i 
the youths, (boys and girls,) had earned. If there appears any 1 
discrepancy in the period in which they effected the purchase 
of the different days for themselves, it is to be accounted for in 
their drawing more money at one period than at another, as 
they frequently did towards the last, after they had accomplished 
the purchase of two or three days, or their freedom would 
have been sooner accomplished. 



56 INTERESTIXG PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

This took place, (the effectingof their freedom,) in August 
•^ 1840, nearly two years since ; at which time they would have 
taken their departure for Liberia, but as the Abolitionists of the 
Northern and Eastern states of our Union had occasioned much 
excitement in our state, not only among the owners of slaves, 
but among the slaves themselves, I did not consider it safe, or 
myself at liberty, howsoevermuch I desired it, as there was 
a considerable black population in the immediate neighbor- 
1 hood of those of my black people, to send them away. 

I therefore told them, without giving them the cause, they 
must be satisfied to remain where they were until the proper 
time for their departure should arrive ; with which they 
remained satisfied. So that they effected their freedom, as 
above stated, in about fourteen years and a half; and the asser- 
tion that I made in your Gazette of the 24th of June last, "that 
the act of sending those people away is, in my case, one of 
simple honesty alone," is explained in my having received in 
money from them, or the equivalent of money, the full price 
agreed on between us, for their freedom in Liberia. 

Some persons, Messrs. Editors, may now, perhaps, be 
disposed to say, "Why proceed in this roundabout way, this 
giving of one-half of Saturday, this keeping of accounts, this 
purchasing of day after day, &c., &c.? It is all unnecessary, 
and their working to gain their time is all an illusion. The 
whole of the time of a slave belongs to his master. The master 
can compel his labor without freeing the slave, &c." 

I admit the truth of the latter part of the assertion, that 
the time and labor of a slave belong to his master, but deny 
that the first is an illusion, as respects either the one or the 
other, the master or the slave ; for it is founded in the moral 
constitution of man. 

Without hope, a certain something in the future to look 
forward to and aspire to, man would be nothing. Deprive him 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 57 

of this inspiring faculty of soul, and he would grovel in the dust 
as a brute. But, say they, why not promise him at once freedom 
after fifteen years service ? To this I have many and strong 
objections. In that mode his freedom would appear as the gift 
of his master, who might, as the slave would fear, repent and 
retract his promise. 

In the other mode the slave would have gained it — have 
purchased and paid his master for it. Hope would be kept 
alive in his bosom : he would have a goal in view, continually 
urging him on to faithfulness, fidelity, truth, industry, economy, 
and every virtue and good work. 

The observations of a great and good man with whom I 
was in correspondence, made to me in one of his letters some 
years since, and to whom I had faintly intimated the plan I was 
pursuing with my people, are so descriptive of their then situa- 
tion, feelings, and conduct, that I will give you an extract from it. 

"Your plan, dear sir, as I infer from what you have inti- 
mated to me, calls into action a higher and nobler motive than 
servile fear. It holds out a reward to the obedient and the faith* 
ful. Such a motive can seldom fail. It is the impulsive cause 
of all good conduct ; hence we find it holding a conspicuous 
place in the system of government which the Almighty exer- 
cised over the ancient Israelites: 'If ye be willing and obedient, 
ye shall eat the good of the land.' And the same motive to 
Christian conduct is presented under the Christian dispensation : 
'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of 
life.' " 

From the foregoing summary, it will be seen that the basis 
of my plan for their success and government was religion — a 
desire to awaken in their bosoms the love of the divinity. 
Hope and trust in him, once born in their souls, would produce 
its fruits, a determination to obedience, labor, order, economy, 
and all good works. 



58 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DOXOGH 



That such was the result, and was the impulsive cause of 
their true and faithful conduct, is shown. Its effects on the 
interests of their master, his happiness, is also shown and seen. 
They have now sailed for Liberia, the land of their fathers. I 
can say with truth and heartfelt satisfaction, that a more vir- 
tuous people does not exist in any community. And I pray the 
Most High to continue unto them the blessings which he never 
ceased to shower down on their heads whilst under my roof. 

I will further observe, that from the day on which I made 
the agreement with them, notwithstanding they had, at all 
times previous thereto, been a well-disposed and orderly 
people, an entire change came over them. They were no 
longer apparently the same people. A sedateness, a care, an 
economy, an industry, took possession of them, to which there 
seemed to be no bounds, but in their physical strength. They 
were never tired of laboring, and seemed as though they could 
never effect enough. They became temperate, moderate, 
religious, setting an example of innocent and unoffending lives 
to the world around them, which was seen and admired by all. 

The result of my experiment in a pecuniary point of view, 
as relates to myself, is not one of the least surprising of its 
features, and is this. In the space of about sixteen years which 
those people served me, since making the agreement with them, 
they have gained for me, in addition to having performed more 
and better labor than slaves ordinarily do in the usual time of 
laboring, a sum of money, including the sum they appear to 
have paid me in the purchase of their time, which will enable 
me to go to Virginia, or Carolina, and purchase a gang of people, 
of nearly double the number of those I have sent away. 

This I state from an account kept by me, showing the 
amount and nature of their extra work, and labor, which I am 
ready to attest to, in the most solemn manner, at any time. 

Previous to entering into the agreement with those people, 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 59 

I calculated, and my estimate and calculation have been fully- 
realized to me in the result, that their labor would be given 
with all the energy of heart, soul, and physical powers ; that 
they would in consequence accomplish more labor in a given 
time than the same number of people would in ordinary cir- 
cumstances ; and that in addition they would labor some two, 
three, or four hours, morning and night, in the twenty-four of 
the day, more than other slaves were in the habit of doing, or 
would do. 

To set forth and show the spirit that actuated and filled 
their souls in relation to their worldly concerns during the 
whole time they were operating under this agreement, I will 
state in the sequel to this some circumstances known here to 
hundreds of our most respectable citizens. 

If the planters of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, 
whose lands are worn out, would entrust their slaves to the 
younger male branches of the family, to bring here, into our 
state, to cultivate the richest alluvial soils in the world, they 
would be enabled, under such an agreement with their slaves as 
I have pointed out above, after gaining by their extra labor the 
value of their entire gangs, to make large revenues and pass 
happy lives. 

For I can say with great truth, that the last sixteen years 
of mine, passed as they have been in peace, and without 
anxiety, in the midst of those people, have been among the 
most happy of my life. The knowledge that I was surrounded 
by those who looked upon me in the light of a friend and 
father, and would willingly at any time have imperilled their own 
lives to save mine, if necessary, gave peace and serenity to the 
mind. Thus they could send their entire gangs to Liberia, 
without the cost of a dollar to themselves. 

Besides which, to bring their slaves into this state, and 
keep them here, would be an act of humanity, as it would 



6o INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

inure them to a climate very analogous to that of Africa, and 
they would run no risk to their health or lives when afterwards 
settling in Liberia. 

To ensure the success of the plan in all its parts, I will say 
also to such masters as feel an interest in the happiness of their 
black people and will attempt to execute and carry it out, 
neglect not religious instruction to your people. Religion must 
be combined with the plan, and walk hand in hand with it. 

I will now state, that to carry out this plan with complete 
success, it is all important that the slave have full and entire 
confidence in his master. He must be convinced that his 
master is his friend and well-wisher, that he is true, sincere and 
honest. Without this confidence of the slave in his master, 
the plan could not be carried out with success. It would be in 
vain for a master to attempt it, whose character was known for 
duplicity, untruth, dishonesty, or cruelty. He would not 
succeed in it ;■ for no one is better acquainted with the character 
of his master than the slave himself 

To encourage them in the execution and carrying out of 
their engagement, I showed them every six months, or twice a 
year, their accounts, on my books, and informed them of their 
success, and the sum of money they had gained, which was in 
my hands, standing to the credit of their accounts. This pro- 
ceeding on my part appeared to instill new life into them and 
to afford them great satisfaction. It was a proof also to them 
of the interest I felt in their affairs. 

The Legislatures of our different slave states might, by 
the enactment of laws on the subject, greatly assist and pro- 
tect the interest of the slave. I do not mean by forcing the 
master to make such arrangements or to come to such an 
understanding with his slaves. But in the event of misfortune 
or bankruptcy in the master whose slaves had been working 
under such an agreement, the master might be permitted to 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 6i 

prove on his oath in a court of justice that such an agreement 
existed between him and his slaves, that the slaves had been 
working under said agreement for such and such a time, and 
that such a sum of money had been gained by them towards 
their freedom. 

By which means the slaves, if seized for debt, could only 
be sold for a certain time, of sufficient duration, after a legal 
estimation, for the purpose of paying and liquidating the 
balance due them ; well understood, that such enactments 
should be made by the different legislatures under the express 
condition that the slaves were not to remain in the United 
States, but to remove, or to be removed, to Liberia in Africa, 
as soon as the time of service for which they were sold should 
have expired. 

If on the other hand the master of slaves, who had of his 
own free will entered into such an agreement with them, should 
die previous to the slaves having acquired the right to emigrate 
to Liberia, under the agreement they had made to labor for 
their freedom, the slaves should be protected by law, and per- 
mitted to prove in a court of justice, by one or more disin- 
terested white persons who had heard it from the mouth of 
the master, the amount they had already gained under the 
agreement ; and they should then be sold for servants for a 
time, to pay the balance due from them, and be forced to emi- 
grate to Liberia. 

I will now say a few words relating to my general mode 
of treating these people. They were lodged in warm and com- 
fortable houses, fed with good salt provisions and corn bread, 
with a plenty of garden vegetables cooked with pork ; clothed 
with strong, durable clothing, according to the season ; a ra- 
tion of molasses and one of salt was allowed them weekly and a 
little coffee and common tea every six months. 

Christmas and New Year presents served to supply their 



62 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN m'dONOGH 

little wants, and enabled them to leave nearly everything 
arising from their own labor untouched in my hands. They 
kept hogs and fowls of their own, and cultivated what ground 
they needed in corn and vegetables. 

In sickness, I had as good care taken of them as of my- 
self, with good nurses to attend them. When they committed 
or were charged with offenses, I did not order an arbitrary 
punishment, but had them tried by their peers. I would sum- 
mon a jury of five or six of the principal men, and say to them, 
"Such a man or such a woman is charged with such an offense ; 
the witnesses, I am told, are such and such persons ; summon 
them, hold your court, have him tried, and report to me your 
judgment and the punishment to be inflicted." 

It was done, all in due form. The courtroom was the 
church. The trial took place, and the person was acquitted or 
condemned. The punishment awarded, if condemned and 
found guilty, was reported to me. I generally found it neces- 
sary to modify it, in reference to leniency. If twenty lashes 
were awarded, I would say to the judges, who were the executors 
of the sentence, "Give ten lashes and a moral lecture to the cul- 
prit for the offense." 

It was done. The criminal acknowledged the justice of 
the punishment, promised better things for the future, and forgot 
not to be grateful to the master who had reduced the degree of 
punishment and reinstated him in place and favor. 

For upwards of twenty years I have had no white man 
over them as an overseer. One of themselves was their manager 
or commander, who conducted, directed and managed the 
others. Nor would I myself have the time once in six months 
to see in person what they were doing, though the commander 
would report to me nightly what he had done through the day, 
and receive my instructions for the day following. 

They were, besides, my men of business, enjoyed my con- 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 63 

fidence, were my clerks, transacted all my affairs, made pur- 
chases of materials, collected my rents, leased my houses, took 
care of my property and effects of every kind, and that with an 
honesty and fidelity that was proof against every temptation. 

As I promised to state in the sequel some circumstances 
that would go to show the spirit that animated and filled their 
souls in executing and carrying out the agreement they had 
entered into with their master, and in what way the extra labor 
I have spoken of was performed, I have now to observe, that 
I was looked on generally by the French planters on the 
opposite side of the river to New Orleans, where I reside, as, 
if not a very cruel, at least a very severe master, one who 
worked his people late and early — for the whip was seldom 
or never heard on my plantation ; never, indeed, except to 
uphold and support good order and morality. 

Some years since, a gentleman from one of the eastern 
states, a friend of mine, met me in the streets of New Orleans, 
on a Monday, and on stopping me he began to smile, saying 
that he had passed the day previous, the Sabbath, in the coun- 
try, a few leagues above my residence, on the right bank of the 
Mississippi, at the house of a rich sugar planter, who had 
given a party in honor of his arrival. There he had met at 
dinner some twenty or thirty French gentlemen, principally 
sugar planters on that side of the river, and their ladies. 

At dinner, their conversation turned on planting, crops, 
slavery, etc., and he was asked what was generally thought by 
the inhabitants of the eastern and northern states, of the inhabi- 
tants of the south of the Union, the slave holders. The gentle- 
man replied, among other observations, that the French plant- 
ers of Louisiana were looked upon generally by the Americans 
of the North as very severe and even cruel masters in the treat- 
ment of their slaves, much more so even than the planters of 
Louisiana of English ancestry. 



64 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

This brought from the gentlemen at table an assertion, 
that some of the most severe masters of the state were to be 
found among the Anglo-Americans, a term by which all Ameri- 
cans and strangers generally are called by the natives of Louis- 
iana of French descent. And as an instance they cited you, 
mentioning your name, as one who obliged his people to work 
until midnight, and one or two o'clock in the morning. 

For the truth of the assertion they appealed to one an- 
other, when it was confirmed by them generally, both ladies 
and gentlemen, who had known your black people often and 
often to be at work, (as they had seen them with their own 
eyes,) until that late hour of the night, adding, that it was 
known to be a common thing with them to work late and 
early. 

The gentleman observed to the company, that the circum- 
stance surprised and astonished him much. Knowing me as 
he did, he had not supposed me capable of treating my people 
with such severity, &c., &c. They again assured him of the 
fact, and appealed to every inhabitant of the country between 
that and my residence, for the truth. 

"Now," says my friend, "I merely mention these things to 
you. I do not inquire as to the truth of it, because I am 
convinced there is some mistake about it, something I do not 
understand." 

To this I observed, smiling, "Not so fast, my friend. All 
that those ladies and gentlemen said is true. They had seen, 
as they informed you, with their own eyes, my people at work, 
often and often, at the hours they mentioned to you. But did 
they tell you at the same time that they never saw them at work 
but they were as merry as crickets, singing and joyful, making 
the whole neighborhood vocal with their happiness ? 

"Had they told you that, which would have been nothing 
but the truth, it would no doubt have convinced you that there 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 65 

was no compulsion in their laboring. The only part of the 
assertion of these ladies and gentlemen which was incorrect, 
was that I obliged my slaves to work until midnight and until 
one and two in the morning. They are often working, I confess, 
at these hours, but I do not force them to work, it is of their 
own free will and accord." 

"Then," observed the gentleman, "you must pay them, I 
presume." "I do not say," said I to him, "what I do, further 
than that there is no compulsion in their laboring. But I pro- 
mise that you shall know the story one day, if I am spared," — 
which he will, as I shall send him a copy of this. 

We then separated, but I found the gentleman, I confess, 
very incredulous, notwithstanding that he knew something of 
my character, as to slaves working of their own accord, without 
compulsion from their masters. The story is this. 

My residence is on the opposite side of the river Mis- 
sissippi, immediately in front of the centre of the city of New 
Orleans. The steam ferry which runs from one side of the 
river to the other lands a short distance below my house. 
The French ladies and gentlemen, residing above my house, 
on the right bank of the river, being very fond of balls and 
theatres, were in consequence in the constant habit of passing 
and repassing my house, to and from the city of New Orleans, 
in their carriages, at all hours of the night and morning. 

Immediately below and adjoining my residence, I had ex- 
tensive establishments for the making of brick, engaged in 
working in which, those ladies saw, with their own eyes, often 
and often, my people, at the hours they mentioned ; which 
explains why they considered me a severe master. 

I have to observe that I was in the habit of never retiring 
to rest at night until seeing my commander, and knowing that 
the people had come in from their work ; for I have labored 
myself, night and day, through a long life, and shall continue 



66 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

to do SO to its close. And often and often, when the clock 
would strike ten and eleven, I would say to a servant of the 
house, not having seen the commander, "Have the people come 
in from their work ? 

"No, sir," he would reply, "I see bonfires in the brick- 
yard. They have not yet finished their work." I would say 
to him, "Go out and ask the commander what keeps him out 
so late." He would return to me, saying, "Sir, the commander 
says there are some thirty or forty thousand bricks out, the 
weather looks like rain, and he must get them in and save 
them, or they will all be lost." 

Satisfied with this statement I have waited till midnight 
and sent out again. The same answer returned ; again at one 
o'clock in the morning, the same answer ; they singing the 
whole time, that they might be heard over the neighborhood. 

At two o'clock I have sent out to him with positive orders 
to break off work and bring his people in, even if the bricks 
should be lost — that I would not permit them to work any 
longer. When in would come the commander, and likely not 
at all pleased, saying, "Sir, if you had allowed us to go on an 
hour or two longer we should have saved all our brick, which I 
fear we may lose." This will serve to show how the spirit 
worked within them. After retiring to bed and rest, I have 
known them hundreds of times, on appearance of rain, arise 
and go out to work, at all hours of the night and morning. 
"" I will now give another instance, (I might relate hundreds,) 
going to show the effect of that hope, that charm of man's ex- 
istence, liberty, on the life and actions of those people. 

Some years since some twenty or thirty of those people 
were engaged in erecting some extensive brick warehouses on 
Julia street in New Orleans, (for they were excellent mechanics 
of various trades, and were in the habit of making brick, pur- 
chasing shells and burning lime, sawing timber, and then taking 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 67 

the materials when made, and building them up into fine houses 
on both sides of the river, for their master,) near to the resi- 
dence of Edward E. Parker, Esq., one of our most wealthy and 
respectable citizens, a gentleman who was in the habit of building 
very extensively himself in the city. 

Meeting Mr. Parker on a certain day in the street of New 
Orleans I was accosted and asked, whether I would sell him a 
certain black man named Jim, or James. Having several men 
of that name I inquired which James, when he observed, the 
one that was at the head of the bricklayers who were erecting 
those warehouses on Julia street, near his residence. 

I replied to him, no, that I was not in the habit of selling 
people, that I purchased occasionally but never sold. Mr. 
Parker then observed that he wished I would depart in the 
present instance from my general rule and agree to sell him 
that man ; that he was very desirous of possessing him ; that 
as he was erecting several buildings the man would suit him 
and he would give a good price for him. 

I again said to him that the man was not for sale, and was 
about to leave him when he observed : "Could you not be 
tempted to sell him, sir? I will give you two thousand five 
hundred dollars for him in cash." I told Mr. Parker it did not 
tempt me, and we separated. 

A week or two thereafter I met Mr. Parker again, and was 
again accosted on the same subject, with, "Do, Mr. McDonogh, 
sell me that man. 1 will give you three thousand dollars for 
him." 

Again I made him him the same answer, that he was not 
for sale. Again and again we met in the streets, and each time 
the same request, raising the offer of price at each interview, 
until at last Mr. Parker informed me that he would pay me five 
thousand dollars in cash for him. Feeling at length a little \ 
vexed at these repeated demands, I said to Mr. Parker, "ThougR 



68 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dGNOGH 

you are a very rich man, sir, your whole fortune could not pur- 
chase that man, or any of the others. He is not to be sold." 

Mr. Parker finding at length, from the refusal of such a 
large sum of money for him, that there was no hope of obtain- 
ing him, observed to me, "Well then Mr. McDonogh, seeing 
that you will not sell him at any price, tell me what kind of 
people are those of yours." To which I replied, "How so, Mr. 
Parker ? I suppose they are like other men, flesh and blood, 
like you and myself" 

He replied, "Why, sir, I have never seen such people. 
Building, as they are, next door to my residence, I see and 
have my eyes on them from morning till night. You are never 
there, for I have never met you or seen you once at the build- 
ing. Tell me, sir, where do those people of yours live ? Do 
they cross the river morning and night ?" 

I informed him that they lived on the opposite side of the 
river, where I lived myself, and crossed it to their work, when 
working in New Orleans, night and morning, except when 
stormy, (which happened very seldom,) when I did not per- 
mit them to cross it and endanger their lives ; at such times 
they remained at home or in the city. 

"Why, sir," said he, "I am an early riser, getting up 
before day. And do you think that I am not awakened every 
morning of my life by the noise of their trowels, at work, and 
their singing and noise, long before day ? And do you sup- 
pose, sir, that they stop or leave off work at sundown ? No, 
sir. They work as long as they can see to lay brick and then 
carry up brick and mortar for an hour or two afterwards to be 
ahead of their \\fork the next morning. 

"And again, sir, do you think that they walk at their 
work ? No, sir, they run all day. You see, sir, those im- 
mensely long ladders five stories in height ? Do you suppose 
they walk up them ? No, sir, they run up and down like 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 69 

monkeys the whole day long. I never saw such people as 
those, sir. I do not know what to make of them. 

"Was there a white man over them with a whip in his 
hands all day, why then I should see and understand the cause 
of their running and incessant labor. But I cannot comprehend 
it, sir. There is something in it, sir, there is something in it. 
Great man, sir, that Jim — great man, sir, — should like to own 
him, sir, should like to own him." 

After having laughed very heartily at the observations of 
Mr. Parker, for it was all truth, every word of it, I informed 
him that there was a secret about it, which I would disclose to 
him some day ; and we separated. Now, Mr. Parker imputed 
the conduct of these people, (for I have given the very words 
and expressions he used, and he is alive, hearty and well, in 
New Orleans, and can be spoken to by any one interested in 
the subject,) to the head man who conducted them, and in con- 
sequence, impressed with this belief, offered me five thousand 
dollars for him. 

But Mr. Parker knew not the stimulus that acted on the 
heart of each and every one of them ; that it was the whole 
body of them that. moved together as one mind, not alone the 
head man, as he supposed. 

In closing this statement I will say a few words to show 
what the attachment of people similarly situated will be to a 
master who treats them justly. The ship on which they sailed 
for Africa lay opposite my house, in the Mississippi, at the bank 
of the river. I had taken my leave of them when they went on 
board the ship on Friday evening, the day previous to her sail- 
ing, in my house. 

The scene which then took place I will not attempt to 
describe — it can never be erased from memory. Though stand- 
ing in need on the occasion of consolation myself, in bidding 
a last farewell on earth to those who had so many claims on my 



r 



70 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M UONOGH 



affections, and who had been around and about me for such a 
long series of years, I had to administer it to them, who stood 
in the greater need of it. 

I had to tell them that the separation was but for a brief 
period of time ; that we should meet again, I trusted, in a bet- 
ter and happier state ; to charge them to gird up their loins and 
play the man valiantly, in their determination to enter their own 
Canaan ; and to remember that there was still another and final 
separation from all things earthly, which they had to sustain 
and encounter, to meet and be prepared for which they should 
persevere in well-doing to the end ; that their lamps must be 
kept well trimmed, and their lights burning. 

On Saturday morning, the Rev. Mr. McLain, the Agent 
of the American Colonization Society, who took deep interest 
in all that concerned this people, crossed the river to dispatch 
the ship, and see them take their departure, which took place 
about eight o'clock in the morning of that day, the nth of 



I June. After seeing them off, the ship was taken by a steamer. 

Mr. McLain came into my house, as I was expecting him 
to breakfast. On seeing him much affected, tears standing in 
his eyes, I inquired if anything had taken place to give him 
pain ; to which he replied : 

"Oh, sir, it was an affecting sight to see them depart. 
They were all on the deck of the ship, and your servants who 
have not gone were on the shore bidding them farewell. From 
every tongue on board the ship I heard the charge to those on 
shore, 'Fanny, take care of our master; James, take care of 
our master, take care of our master ; as you love us, and hope 
to meet us in heaven, take care of our beloved master.' " 

Which ejaculations, said he, continued until they were 
out of sight. This would appear to reverse the general course 
of things. It is the master or mistress who is heard, when 
about to take a voyage, recommending their servants to the 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 7 1 

care of some confidential person. But here were the servants 
recommending their master to the care of other servants. 

I have now, Messrs. Editors, fulfilled my promise, and 
related the experience I have had in the management of slaves. 
Should it induce but one planter in the state to try the mode 
I pursued so much to my " own satisfaction and pecuniary 
advantage, and meet with the same success which has attended 
my attempt, I shall consider the time it has cost in giving the 
relation well spent, and myself fully repaid. 

With great respect, I am, gendemen. 
Your friend and obedient servant, 

John McDonogh. 



FROM MRS. SARAH BELLA McLEAN. 

(WIFE OF JOHN M'LEAN, JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT.) 

Washington City, February lo, 1844. 
Mr. John McDonogh : — 

I need not apologize for addressing you, my dear friend. 
I feel convinced that my correspondence is acceptable to you, 
and I know that you have thought of me frequendy, wondering 
perhaps at my silence. I assure you, that you are very often 
present in my mind. I cannot forget your philanthropy, your 
extraordinary and most praiseworthy exertions in behalf of the 
slaves, your kind, considerate heart, and your benevolent 
intentions. May God abundandy reward you for both in time 
and in eternity ! 



72 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

I cannot yet cease to regret that I had not the pleasure of 
seeing you when in New Orleans. Such an opportunity may 
never again be afforded to me. I have much to say which I 
find difficult to write. Your suggestion respecting a female 
colonization society I mentioned to several ladies of Cincinnati, 
and it was heard with great approbation and commended as an 
excellent missionary work. Africa is in darkness and no doubt 
is destined in the providence of God to feel the light of truth 
and civilization. 
I But with us funds are difficult to procure, and transporta- 

'■ tion is expensive. We cannot of course influence the slave, 
and the free colored families are unwilling to go to Africa, and 
we have no power to force them. In consideration of all these 

L difficulties there was a society formed for the purpose of improv- 
ing the black population of the state of Ohio. We keep an 
agent employed whose business it is to visit every black settle- 
ment and town and farm for the purpose of instructing them 
more perfectly in agriculture, the mechanic arts, and morals 
and religion. 

They also establish schools and provide teachers for them, 
They organize Sunday schools and instruct them generally in 
regard to all duties civil and social. The tendency of this is 
to benefit the white as well as the black population. I think 
in the state of Ohio there are upwards of 17,000 colored 
persons. Of course, were they left in ignorance and vice 
they would be a dangerous kind of citizens, infinitely more so 
than when under a system of instruction and moral improve- 
ment. 

In this way, my friend, are we not preparing missionaries, 
perhaps for Africa ? Are we not in the performance of duty ? 
Yes, I think I hear you say, we are. I would with pleasure 
advance the Colonization Society. I am member of one, 
and I have the highest respect for its object and its members. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 73 

but it appears more properly to belong to the slave states, as 
in the free states we can use no compulsion. 

I make this very long explanation to convince you that I 
have not been regardless of your very excellent advice, and 
also at the same time to call your attention to the importance 
of educating the emigrants preparatory to their leaving for 
Africa. There is an admirable school and college in the north 
grant of the state of Ohio, where persons of color, male and 
female, can be received and educated at a moderate expense 
and fitted for usefulness. And what better benevolence could 
be devised, my friend, than to send twenty or thirty or more 
young persons of this unfortunate portion of God's creatures 
to be thus improved and fitted for extensive usefulness ? 

I feel convinced that your generous heart will at once see 
the blessing this would yield both to you and to them. Do 
not, my friend, leave all the good deeds of this kind to be 
performed by your executors. Pardon me in urging you to 
do as much as you can while you are living, and enjoy the 
sweet pleasure it will afford. You might endow a college for 
the exclusive education of colored children and locate it in Ohio. 
I shall be happy to assist you in every way in my power. 

Let me know if you are willing to make some such appro- 
priation and I will assist you in devising a plan. One idea is 
to send pupils to Oberlin ; another, to assist our society for 
the promotion of useful knowledge among the black population 
of Ohio. It is called the Ohio Ladies' Society for the Educa- 
tion of Colored Persons, of which I am the president. 

I know you will pardon all this, my friend. I am mfluenced 
to make these representations to you from the love of God and 
the admiration of your kind heart and generous intentions. 
Will you oblige me by answering this very soon ? And believe 
me your very sincere friend and well wisher, 

Sarah Bella McLean. 



74 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

P. S. Present my compliments and best respects to Mr. 
Bennett, You of course recognize in my new name the former 

Mrs. Garnard. 



FROM MRS. McLEAN. 

Washington City, March 14, 1844. 
Mr. John McDonogh, 

Dear Friend : — 

I wrote you several weeks ago. From your long 
silence I fear the letter has miscarried or, which would be infin- 
itely more painful to me, you may have been dissatisfied wit)i 
its contents. I can scarcely imagine how this could arise, 
feeling all that I said was dictated by the most profound 
respect for your mind and heart, and at the same time written 
with the spirit of kindness and Christian charity. 

Indeed it was simply a reply to the suggestions and in- 
quiries contained in your last letter, I beg you will be con- 
vinced of my deep interest for your happiness, and the hap- 
piness and prosperity of all the servants and dependents by 
whom you are surrounded and to whose welfare you are de- 
voting time smd thought. I fervently pray that the Al- 
mighty may abundandy bless you with his protecting care, 
and that he may strengthen your benevolent resolves and 
actions, which produce in your mind that peace of conscience 
which is far above all treasures. 

My dear friend, will you pardon me in the hope that you 
are making preparation for that spiritual world to which we are 
approaching. Do not delay it. There is nothing in our 
possession so uncertain as time. Can you not visit the western 
country this summer? It will give us great pleasure to see 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 75 

you in Cincinnati. I will treat you with the kindness of a 
sister and my family will do all in their power to minister to 
your comfort. 

Allow me, my friend, to insist upon this. I wish to see 
you and talk over your plans of benevolence in the disposition 
of the great estate which God in his mercy has enabled you 
to accumulate. How much you have in your possession with 
which to bless the poor injured Africans ! I fervently thank 
heaven that it is in your heart to undertake the great work. 
Your next If tter, I hope, will inform me of your health and the 
engagements that are at present occupying your attention. 

I shall be glad to receive any advice from you on the 
subject of colonization, or anything that you may advance on 
other subjects in the cause of philanthropy. Present my 
respects to your valuable friend Mr. Bennett, We leave 
Washington City in a few days for Cincinnati. Judge McLean 
sends his kind regards to you. And now, farewell. I remain 
your sincere friend. 

With sentiments of the highest esteem, 

Sarah Bella McLean. 



TO MRS. McLEAN. 

New Orleans, May 6, 1844. 
Mrs. Sarah Bella McLean, 
Madam : — 

Receive I pray you a thousand thanks for the very 
kind and friendly letters of the loth of February and 14th of 
March last which you have done me the honor to address me, 
•and be assured that I prize and appreciate tham, coming as 
they do from one so amiable and highly gifted. 



76 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

Permit me at the same time, madam, though late, to offer 
you congratulations, and through you to Judge McLean, on 
your happy union. I heard of it through the public prints at 
the time it took place, and greatly rejoiced at your happiness. 
That it will tend to the honor of our adorable Master, I feel 
and know ; for the marriage of his children is decreed and their 
union predestinated in heaven. All such then as are joined in 
love here below by the Holy Spirit are blessed, made agents of 
doing good here on earth, and must be happy. 

I have to apologize to you, madam, in not having replied 
at a more early date to your interesting and most friendly let- 
ters. The cause was, in the first place, you informed me that 
you expected to leave Washington for Cincinnati on or about 
the 15th of March, and I feared my letter if I had written 
would not have found you there. Secondly, a prolonged 
absence from the city into the country has put it out of my 
power. 

And thirdly, forced as I am during daylight to attend to a 
mass of business affairs almost beyond my physical powers to 
sustain at my advanced period of life, and which admits of no 
delay, I am in consequence obliged to do all my writing at night, 
with eyes fast failing me. I am writing these few lines to you, 
madam, at midnight. I am therefore assured, madam, amiable 
and forgiving as you are, of your pardon and forgiveness in 
advance. 

The society which I took the liberty of recommending 
to you, madam, to establish in Cincinnati is not a branch soci- 
ety to the ladies' society for the purpose of educating the chil- 
dren of the colonists and natives of Liberia in Africa by send- 
ing out free colored teachers to open schools there. The soci- 
ety you mentioned to me, madam, as having been formed for 
the improvement of the free colored population of Ohio in all 
that concerns their religious, civil and social state, merits high 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 77 

commendation, and with the blessing of the Most High must 
be the means of great good to them as well as to the whites. 

I am greatly charmed, madam, to hear you say, (for no 
one has it more in their power from your talent and your heart 
to do it service than you have,) speaking of the African 
Colonization Society, that you are its warm friend, are a mem- 
ber of one, and would by all means in your power advance its 
cause. It is indeed a holy cause, and has the smile of Heaven 
upon it. 

You inform me that there is an admirable school and col- 
lege in the north part of your state where persons of color can 
be received, educated, and fitted for usefulness, and recom- 
mend me to send some young persons to that institution, and 
not to leave all the good deeds of the kind to be performed 
by my executors. You further observe that I might endow a 
college exclusively for colored children in Ohio, and propose 
to me a choice of four plans of usefulness, any or all of which 
I might patronize and carry out. 

The extent of your philanthropy and the goodness of 
your heart, madam, I acknowledge shine forth in every word 
you have uttered, but a very humble individual like myself, 
with limited means at command whatever my desires might be, 
cannot do and accomplish all things. Time and numbers 
accomplish what few individuals have it in their power to do. 
Africa I confess to you madam, is one of my favorite daughters. 
But, strong as are her claims, she is not my chief favorite, for 
charity begins at home. 

Though I refuse not my little mite, as I wend my wa y 
along the path of life, to the unhappy and unfortunate whom 
I overtake in the road, still the chief object I aim at is to hus- 
band, amass and take care of the goods which the Most High 
gives me, not placing my affection on them I trust, but hus- 
banding them until the day of my departure arrives. Events 



78 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

indeed may turn up, for all that poor-sighted mortal can see, 
which may determine me to disclose it sooner. 

You will then know, madam, for what object the very humble 
individual whom you have honored with the appellation of friend 
has lived ; and, I hope, not to condemn, but to approbate and 
approve. 
r^ Whilst on the subject of yout recommendation, education, 
I will observe that under the laws of our state owners of slaves 
not being permitted to educate them, I applied some ten or 
twelve years since by memorial to the legislature for permission 
to educate them under the obligation of bond and security to 
send all such to Africa within five years from the date of the 
law. But I was refused the permission. 

Finding that, I determined to secure to them and their 
descendants education by other means, and in consequence 
sent two talented young men of seventeen and eighteen years 
of age (slaves and black as Africa) to the college of Lafayette, 
, at Easton in Pennsylvania. The president ot this institution 
was the excellent and talented Doctor Junkin, whom you prob- 
ably are acquainted with, as he now resides in your state, being 
the president of the University at Oxford, not far from your city. 

One of those young men, (both of whom are destined for 
the ministry,) his education being completed, has departed for 
Africa, and is now at the mission station at Settra Kroo, Liberia, 
keeping a school for the native youth. 1 frequently hear from 
him, and his letters are most interesting and satisfying. 

The other young man is still at Easton college, where it is 
expected he will graduate the ensuing September or October. 
In addition to his college studies, for he possesses talent of a 
high order, he is studying medicine and surgery under Doctor 
Abernetby, and will become, I trust, a celebrated physician, 
divine, and teacher of the classics and several of the modern 
languages, in all of which he is nearly perfect. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 79 

In a late letter from the Honorable Walter Lowrie, of New 
York, to whose care I had sent these two young men, he gives 
me an extract from a letter he had just received from David, 
the name of the young man who is yet at the Lafayette College. 
As it shadows out in strong relief the mind of this young 
African, I copy it for your perusal, Mr. Lowrie says : 

"David is himself fully alive to the prospects before him. 
In his letter before me he writes : 'When I have obtained those 
two professions, that is, theological and medical, I will go with 
a glad and overflowing heart to that once enlightened but now 
benighted land, with the Holy Bible in one hand and my box 
of rrredicine in the other. With the one, I will strive to cure 
their souls, preaching from its inspired pages the everlasting 
gospel of good tidings of great joy which shall be to all 
people, peace on earth and good will towards men ; and with 
the other, their bodies, striving to heal their wounds and 
bruises, and to dispel their fevers and other diseases.' These, 
sir, are noble resolves. God in his infinite mercy grant they 
may be fully carried out and realized in his life." 

I have the pleasure to inform you, madam, of the arrival 
of a ship here from Liberia, commanded by Capt. Hamburg, 
a very gentlemanly man, bringing me letters highly pleasing 
from that part of my black family which I had sent there. 
He informs me that he has seen them all, and had dined 
frequently with them at their houses. They informed him that 
they were happy, and were in possession of everything they 
could desire, fine plantations, etc. 

When they were inquired of by him if they were desirous 
of returning to Louisiana, their reply was, that they would 
willingly cross the sea again to see once more their master 
before they died, but for all things else they would not change 
Africa for any country on earth. 

Now, madam, in view of those declarations and this hap- 



8q interesting papers of JOHN M DONOGH 

piness, for this part of my family, now there, were happy when 
here, permit me to ask you why the aboHtionists oppose the 
Colonization Society, the colonization scheme, and why they 
oppose a removal of the colored people of our country to Africa, 
that great country, the land of their fathers, where they may 
indeed be happy. 

Do, madam, in the name of Africa, I beseech you, as well 
as in the name of our country, for their removal concerns the 
two races of men, exert your potent influence with the abolition- 
ists of your great state, to induce them to advocate the removal 
of the free colored man and to assist him to Africa, where alone 
he can live in peace, and in the enjoyment of freedonr and 
happiness ; for he never can live in peace or safety with the 
white man on the same soil as a free man. 

In your last letter you observe that, not having heard 
from me in reply to your first, you fear that letter must have 
miscarried, or that I have been dissatisfied with its contents. 
Neither, madam, to.ok place. I both received it and was 
charmed with its contents, acknowledging as I do with gratitude 
the honor you did me in every line. The invitation you have 
given me, madam, to visit Cincinnati, and the expressions of 
kindness and regard with which you were pleased to accom- 
pany it, demand my warmest acknowledgments, and lay me 
under obligations which I shall never be able to repay. 

I would, madam, that my hand could trace on paper the 
feelings of my heart. But it cannot. All it can do is to repeat 
again my thanks, and say, should it ever be my good fortune 
to reach within a hundred miles of your residence it should be 
traversed to make you my respects and oflfer to you the thanks 
and gratitude of an overflowing heart. 

Your kind expressions, madam, bring to my recollection 
some dearly beloved sisters, to whom for twenty years previous 
to 1830 I yearly promised, with a full determination to perform, 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 8l 

that the ensuuig spnng I would see tliem. But that spring has 
never yet set in. Each successive one from that to this, found 
me deeper and deeper immersed in the affairs of Hfe ; and those 
beloved sisters, living in my native city of Baltimore, I have 
not seen for forty-four years. In 1830 I gave up all hope of 
ever seeing them in this life, and so wrote them. 

Still, I hope to sleep there, for my ambition reaches no 
further now than the desire of lying down alongside those (that 
my ashes may mix with theirs) beloved parents, my father and 
mother, who sleep there and were more to me during life than 
all things else on "earth. Pardon me, madam, if I have di- 
gressed so far from the subject of your interesting letters. The 
recollections were awakened in my mind by the endearing term 
sister which you have had the kindness to trace in characters 
which breathed through the epistles. 

Present my best respects, I pray you, madam, to Judge 
McLean, and say that I reciprocate in the warmest manner all 
the kind wishes he has had the goodness to express towards 
me. And with sentiments of high and profound respect, and 
every wish for your happiness, I have the honor to be, madam. 
Your most devoted servant and friend, 

John McDonogh. 



TO MRS. McLEAN. 

New Orleans, October 21, 1844. 
Mrs. Sarah Bella McLean, 

Madam : — Permitted by your indulgent goodness the ho- 
nor of your correspondence, I was about to forward you a few 
slips out of our public prints here, going to show the happiness 
and prosperity of the inhabitants of Liberia, Africa, (and which 



S2 INTERF.STIXG PAPERS QF JOHN M'DONOGH 

you will please find enclosed,) when the great pleasure I en- 
joyed in addressing you a long letter on the 6th of May 
last, in reply to your several interesting letters, was brought 
to my recollection. 

At the same time my fears awoke that it had miscarried 
and had never reached you, or still more unfortunate indeed 
that I might have said something in it in an unguarded moment 
that might have displeased you, which, if so, would be to me a 
source of deep regret and mortification. 

I have now the pleasure to say to you, madam, that since 
last addressing you I have received by the brig Lime Rock, 
arrived here about the middle of August from Monrovia, Liberia, 
a number of letters from the black people whom I sent there ex- 
pressing the highest satisfaction at their situation and prospects. 

A suit at law which interests the poor, and which of a 
consequence will interest you, madam, for your heart is the 
seat of feeling, charity and benevolence, will be tried early in 
the session of the Supreme Court here. It is a just, holy cause, 
and involves a large property which is intended by me, as I 
have said, for the poor. As you will be shortly in Washington, 
(I cannot but regret that ladies do not practise law, as I should 
most assuredly, were that the case, madam, apply for your 
assistance in the defence of a cause which interests the 
unfortunate,) permit me then, madam, to pray a line from you 
in relation to it after your arrival in that city. 

General Jones and Mr. Meredith are charged to carry it 
on for me. A word from you, madam, to either of those gentle- 
men, should you meet them in society, would secure their zeal- 
ous exertions in that cause and be forever remembered by me. 
Be pleased, madam, to present my respects to Judge McLean, 
and believe me to be with profound respect, 

Your most devoted servant and friend, 

John McDonogh. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN m'DONOGH 83 

» 

TO MRS. McLEAN. ' 

New Orleans, February 20, 1846. 
Mrs. Sarah Bella McLean, 

Madam : — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your greatly esteemed iavors of the 23rd August and ist 
January last, which afforded me, as everything which comes 
from your pen and heart does, the highest gratification, and 
more especially, as they informed me at the same time of your 
health being entirely restored and that Judge McLean was in 
full enjoyment of his. 

I have again to apologize to you, madam, for having failed 
to acknowledge tor such a length of time the receipt of your 
most kind, friendly, and interesting letters, but am assured in 
advance, good and amiable as you are, of your forgiveness, 
when informed of the causes which led to it. Within the last 
few months I have had much to affect me, much to show that 
life here below is a shadow, that all things are fleeting and vain 
but virtue and the love of the Deity. 

But why should I give pain to you, or interrupt for a 
moment the happiness of one who honors me with her corre- 
spondence, feeling as I do that all I can write must be of a 
sombre character, tinged with the melancholy that affects and 
weighs down my spirits ! Still I will proceed, for you honor 
me also with your friendship and kind regards, and it will give 
ease to my heart, selfish as I am, to unburthen its regrets and 
laments unto you. 

I have been blessed through life with spirits of great elas- 
ticity, and strove to receive the dispensations of the Most 
High, whatever they might be, with a heart humble and re- 
signed to his will. But I know not how it is or whence 
was the cause ; loss of health perhaps, for I have been lately 
much unwell, or advance of old age and consequent feeble- 



84 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

ness of mind and body. I find that my equanimity and 
vigor of mind, though I trust my heart is entirely resigned 
to the divine will, is now more easily disturbed and shaken 
than it formerly was. 

Amongst many circumstances of an unpleasant and 
afflicting nature which have occurred lately to disturb the even 
tenor of my way to the land of delight and peace, has been 
the departure of one of those beloved sisters, of whom I spoke 
to you in one of my former letters, to the world of spirits. It 
was only a month or two before her departure that she saw cut 
down ii the springtime of life a beloved son and daughter, the 
son in the twenty-fifth year of his age, the daughter in the 
twenty-third, leaving behind her a husband and three children 
to lament their early loss. 

On hearing of her affliction under this dispensation I wrote 
her a few lines, sympathizing with her, and telling her that her 
children had only preceded her a few short days. Little indeed 
did I expect that the next account would inform me of her de- 
parture. As she was greatly beloved by me, and worthy of all 
love for the greatness of her virtues, for she was my companion, 
my friend in childhood and youth, with whom I walked hand 
in hand and took sweet counsel, I will enclose you a copy of 
my last letter to her. 

Excuse all this, madam. It eases my heart to speak ot 
one pure and lovely spirit, who possessed the love of my heart 
at a period of life when the affections are all warm, innocent 
and pure, to another pure and lovely spirit, her counterpart in 
the virtues of truth, faith, charity and love. I feel, however, 
that I have done wrong in having addressed you as I have done. 
If my letters can not be written so as to conduce to your satis- 
faction, I at least should be on my guard not to overcast your 
brow with a cloud or occasion you one moment of pain or un- 
happiness. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 85 

You observe, not having heard from me in reply to your 
last letter, that you fear you may have offended me in some of 
the recommendations made therein. That, madam, is impos- 
sible. Nothing that you could say could give offense. Your 
suggestions and recommendations, proofs of the wisdom 
and the goodness of your heart, have at all times, on the con- 
trary, afforded me the greatest pleasure, and tended to aug- 
ment in a high degree the admiration which I have always 
entertained of the loveliness of your character. I have always 
considered myself most fortunate and highly honored in your 
friendly counsel and advice. 

If I prove an irregular correspondent — and I acknowledge 
my sin, pleading in extenuation age and a mass of business 
affairs almost beyond my strength — do not I pray you, madam, 
let that deprive me of the pleasure of being often in the receipt 
of your highly prized and interesting letters. 

A thousand thanks for your friendly invitation to make 
you a visit. Nothing, I pray you to be assured, madam, 
would afford me more pleasure. But I fear I shall not be able 
to realize it in this world. We shall meet, though, I feel as- 
sured, madam, in another land, a better one. Occupied here 
below, as our souls I trust are, for the promotion of the honor 
and glory of our blessed Lord and Master, by striving to bring 
the souls of men to him, our spirits will meet, I trust, and re- 
cognize each other, in the realms above, as fellow laborers in 
this glorious cause. 

For myself, if I have desired life, it has been that I might 
tend to the honor and glory of him who made and placed me 
here. And if, after he retires me from this scene, it shall be 
found on a review of my actions that I have not lived in vain, 
then will the object of my soul through its whole existence 
here have been accomplished. 

Many thanks, madam, for the kind regards of Judge 



86 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

McLean. I note your observations in relation to Judge McLean, 
and the black people of the late John Randolph of Virginia, 
with your recommendations to him, for which I thank you. 
All you do or say, madam, is in wisdom. A sojournment in 
Ohio for a few years by those people that they may acquire a 
knowledge of God, join the church of Christ our Lord, receive 
the education of our schools, and acquire a knowledge of hus- 
bandry and the arts of life, would most assuredly be nearly 
everything for them. 

But, madam, there is something further requisite to secure 
the happiness of that unfortunate race here in life, and that of 
their posterity — to secure indeed their future safety and exis- 
tence on earth. Looking at the present state of these people 
among us, in the free as well as the slave states of the Union, is 
not enough. We should reflect on what their state will be in 
fifty or one hundred years to come. You, madam, who can do 
so much, by your wisdom and influence in your great state, for 
this people, have you reflected on their situation and what is to 
become of them in times to come ? 

My own opinion is, I have long entertained it, and every 
day's observations confirm it more strongly on my mind, that 
without separation of the races, extermination of one or the 
other must inevitably take place. The two races can never 
inhabit together in a state of equality the same country. They 
may for a short time, even in the capacity of master and slave ; 
as equals and brethren, never. 

Then, madam, is it not the province of wisdom to remove 
and separate them in time, and that more especially when they 
have a country of their own to go to, one of the finest quarters 
of the earth, where they may be happy and they and their 
families live in safety ? Could not the Congress of the United 
States be induced to do something for them, and that without 
interfering with the rights of property ? Could it not pass laws 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 87 

for the benefit of the black man ? Indeed both races, white 
and black, are equally interested in the separation. 

I have sometimes thought that that body might be induced 
to pass a law something similar to this, say appropriating out of 
our immense store of land a million of acres, (in the first 
instance, as a trial, to see how the plan would work,) which 
might be sold at government price ; and slave owners invited 
to bring in their slaves, say to an office in the city of Washing- 
ton, and deliver them up to the government and receive a 
certain price for them (according to a tariflf fixed by law, class- 
ing them males, females and children of different ages at 
different prices) payable in scrip, said scrip payable at once in 
land out of the million of acres so appropriated, or otherwise 
in money as the land is sold and money received for it. 

The views that I take on the subject are that the law should 
establish very low prices to be paid for the slaves, and merely 
invite such slaveholders as thought proper to take in their 
slaves and deliver them up to the government. As the gov- 
ernment now keeps a fleet on the coast of Africa, and has ships 
constantly sailing from the ports of the United States to that 
coast, it would cost very little to transport them there and deliver 
them up to the African colonization societies in Liberia. 

My opinion is, great numbers of the slave holders would 
take in their black people and deliver them up to the govern- 
ment, though they might receive but a very small price in pay- 
ment for them. 

This opinion is founded on the knowledge that great 
numbers of the slave holders would even now deliver up their 
slaves to the American Colonization Society to go to Africa 
without receiving any indemnity for them, if their circumstances 
admitted it. But being somewhat in debt they cannot, as honest 
men, do so ; but could they receive even a very low price, it 
would enable them to pay their debts and benefit their people 



88 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

at the same time, which certainly great numbers, with thanks 
given to God, would seize the opportunity of doing. 

I have thrown these undigested ideas together, madam, 
which I am afraid you will scarcely understand, and will beg 
the favor of you, if you approve of them, to mention them to 
Judge McLean, seeing that by his great and deserved influence 
he has it in his power to serve this unfortunate race. If the 
senators and representatives in Congress from your state, a 
non-slaveholding state, would bring forward such a law, I should 
think there would be no difficulty in passing it. 

As to an appropriation, of a million of acres of land, the 
government having so much of it, it would be as nothing. 
Besides where could such a noble use, in the sight of both God 
and man, be found for the store ? or who of the race of man 
can say that great store has not been given to us, in the secret 
and all wise purposes of the Most High, to be applied to this 
express purpose? 

It is about four months since I last heard from my friends 
in Liberia. They were then all well, were happy, had increased 
considerably in numbers, and express fervent thanks, love, and 
gratitude to the great Giver of all good for his continued and 
wonderful blessings to them. 

Now, madam, I again pray you to favor me often with your 
letters. Write me in the same frank and friendly manner you 
have hithertofore done. Give me your views, counsel, and 
advice on everything which interests the great subject which 
should be the grand object of our existence on earth, that of 
tending in the highest possible degree to the honor and glory 
of our adorable Lord and Master, in bringing souls to him and 
doing good on earth. Fear not giving offense. That is im- 
possible. 

For all your kind wishes and regards, (for the prayers of 
the good and virtuous are heard at the Throne of Grace,) ac- 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 89 

cept, I pray, my warmest thanks, and be assured they are fer- 
vently reciprocated with you. Present my best respects, I pray 
you, madam, to Judge McLean. Say to him that his name is 
heard in the south on the hps of the good, virtuous, and in- 
fluential, when speaking of the Presidency, as one who if placed 
there — and they hope to see him at the next vacancy filling the 
chair of Washington — would tend to the honor, prosperity, and 
happiness of his country, and that none would hear of his be- 
ing a candidate for that high appointment with greater satis- 
faction and joy than myself. 

With profound respect, I am, madam, your obliged and 
devoted servant, 

J. McDonogh. 



FROM REV. ROBERT S. FINLEY. 

New Orleans, Saturday, April 9, 1847. 
My dear Sir: — 

Bishop Hawks of St. Louis and other influential gendemen 
have expressed a desire that I should republish in the Liberian 
Advocate your letter giving an account of the management of 
those servants you sent to Liberia. I have determined to do 
so, as I believe that document produced a more profound im- 
pression in favor of the African colonization than any paper 
that has appeared for many years. 

But I should like to publish it with another letter from you 
giving an account of the condition and prospects of your servants 
since their arrival in Liberia. The present circulation of my 
paper, the Liberian Advocate, is five thousand, but if you 
would consent to write me such a letter as above indicated, to 



go INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

accompany your first letter, I would publish an edition of ten 
thousand copies, if I could raise the means of paying the 
expense of the extra copies. 

I expect to be in New Orleans about two weeks, and to 
hold a series of meetings in behalf of the Colonization Society. 
I expect to deliver a discourse to-morrow afternoon in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church at four o'clock p. m. A public meeting 
of the Louisiana Colonization Society will also be held on Tues- 
day night for the election of officers. At this meeting we expect 
addresses from distinguished citizens. Could you not favor the 
meeting with your presence ? 

I am very desirous to see you and obtain your views on 
several important subjects connected with colonization in Africa, 
especially in reference to its commercial importance. When 
and where would it be agreeable for you to meet me ? A 
letter addressed to me to the care of "Henderson & Peale" 
would reach me with dispatch. 

Very respectfully your friend, 

Robert S. Finley. 



TO REV. ROBERT S. FINLEY. 

New Orleans, June 9, 1847. 
Dear Sir : — 

As you requested, I have written the letter herein enclosed, 
marked No. i, giving you the information you desire, and 
which is intended for publication, if you approve of it, with my 
letter on African colonization. 

You will also receive herewith eleven other letters, from 
the people I have helped to reach their fatherland, which, with 
the four letters I handed you in person, make fifteen, for publi- 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH QI 

cation. One of those letters I have just received by the return 
of the Mary Wilks, which took out the last emigrants from 
this to Liberia. By this letter you will perceive that the 
writer, George Ellis, sends me a little coffee, the product of 
his own trees, and those trees raised from the seed planted by 
himself since his arrival in Africa, now five years, and which 
now yield, as he informs me, a half a pound to a pound each 
tree. The coffee is of delicious quality. I hand our mutual 
friend a little of it to forward you. 

In looking over those letters I found in one of them a copy 
of a letter written by me to Washington in reply to his letters 
of the istand 29th of November, 1844, and March 12, 1845, 
which I have enclosed for your perusal, if you can decipher it, 
as it will tend to show the spirit which actuates and has actuated 
me towards those people. If you think good will arise from 
its publication, you are at liberty to publish it with their letters ; 
if you think otherwise, suppress it. 

When last I had the pleasure of conversing with you, I 
promised to give you an extract from a letter of mine written 
to a lady some time since throwing out some points in relation 
to a mode by which the Congress of the United States might 
act on the subject of colonization, which in my opinion would 
be approved of by every section of our country, north and 
south, slave holder and non-slaveholder, and men of every 
creed. 

This 1 will strive to do shortly, as I desire to send the en- 
closed to you without further delay. My time being so taken 
up by business, it is seldom I can devote a moment to this. 
With great respect, I am, dear sir, 
Your friend and obedient servant, 

John McDonogh. 
The Rev. Robert S. Finley, D. D., 

Saint Louis, Mo. 



92 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

TO REV. ROBERT S. FINLEY. 

New Orleans, June 9, 1847. 
Dear Sir : — 

I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of your 
esteemed favor of the 9th of April last, informing me of your 
intention to publish another edition of my letters on African 
colonization, and saying that you are very desirous of publish- 
ing at the same time ^ith it an account of the present conditions, 
state of happiness and prospects of the servants I sent to Liberia, 
if I would favor you with a letter on the subject. 

To this I will observe, sir, that it will afford me great 
pleasure in complying with your request, as far as in my 
power. The information I possess on that subject is to me of 
the most pleasing and satisfactory nature. It is derived from a 
correspondence with themselves, receiving letters, as I do, by 
every vessel that arrives from that part of the African coast 
where they are settled, and from conversations with various 
gentlemen who have lately been trading there, who have seen 
them, been on their plantations and in their houses, who had 
known some of them previous to their departure from this 
country, and were the bearers of messages and letters from them 
to me. 

In those letters written by themselves, for many of them 
write and write well, some of them having become my clerks 
here, they state, as do the gentlemen who have seen them, that 
they are contented and happy, have plantations under cultiva- 
tion, with good houses, various kinds of domestic animals, 
every necessary of life (with the exception of clothing, which 
is scarce and dear in that country) in the greatest abundance, 
and scarcely anything to desire or wish for. 

They enjoy good health, having had but little sickness 
since their arrival in Africa. The climate is a good one for the 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 93 

black man, and the soil one of great fertility and richness. 
Fruitful as is the valley of the Mississippi, and North America 
in general, still it is not to compare in fruitfulness to that part of 
Africa, as their soil yields them two or three crops a year. 
They give me in their letters long lists of vegetables which in- 
clude nearly every article raised in the United States, besides 
vast numbers of tropical products which our climate does not 
produce. 

In short, they say that Africa is one of the finest quarters 
of the world, and nothing could induce them to remove from 
it for a residence in any other country. Their letters also 
state, for there are several men of observation among them, 
that their country is destined in a few years to carry on and 
support a very considerable commerce ; that the attention of 
the colonists is now turned to the opening of roads and rivers 
into the interior, by which routes the products of the forest and 
soil will be brought to the seaboard and exchanged for the 
manufactures of Europe and America. 

Since writing the foregoing, sir, it strikes me, on reflection, 
that the publishing of the original letters I have received, from 
those people would have a better effect and carry a conviction 
to the minds of men stronger than anything I can say on the 
subject. I therefore forward you with this fifteen letters I have 
received from those persons, to do with as you think proper. 
Those letters were received by the way of New York, Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore, London, etc., and have the post marks of 
those different cities on them, proving their authenticity. 
Should you determine to publish them, you might, if you 
thought proper, sir, invite all persons desirous of seeing the 
originals to call on you to see and read them. 

In concluding this letter you wil) permit me to observe 
that the principal object I had m view, though I had several 
others, in assisting those people to get to their fatherland, was 



94 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

that they might there become the humble instruments of tend- 
ing to the honor and glory of our divine Lord and Master. 

And I confess their letters on that head fill my heart with 
joy and delight, informing me that they strive day and night 
in making known his glorious name and gospel among the 
heathen of that dark and benighted land. Some of them itin- 
erate as missionaries of the gospel through and among the 
native villages, with marked success and blessings on their 
labors of love, and others keep schools among them for the 
instruction of their children. 

With respect, I am, sir, 

Your friend and obedient servant, 

John McDonogh. 



TO REV. ROBERT S. FINLEY. 

New Orleans, June 15, 1847. 
Dear Sir : — 

Since addressing you on the 9th instant by mail, forwarding 
you a number of letters from my friends in Africa, I have copied 
the enclosed, being an extract from a letter of mine addressed 
last year to a friend in Virginia, which I promised to forward 
you when last here. 

On looking over your letters to me, when here, on the 9th 
of April last, I perceive that your desire in obtaining a state- 
ment from me of the present situation and prospects of the 
people I assisted in going to Africa is to publish it with my first 
letter on African colonization in your paper, the Liberian 
Advocate. This I have no doubjjt would have an excellent effect. 

At the same time it has struck me that were a large edi- 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 95 

tion published in pamphlet form, commencing with my first 
letter as published in 1842, after that my account of the pre- 
sent state and prospects of those people, followed by their 
letters to me, (the plan of the Rev. Doctor Chalmers,) and clos- 
ing the series with an extract which I now enclose you, (if you 
approve of its being published, and think it will have a good 
effect, or do good, all which I leave to your own judgment and 
discretion to determine on,) it would be a stronger mode to 
bring the subject home to the minds of men than by publishing it 
in detached pieces, as they would have the whole before them 
at one and the same time. 

By distributing them in the different book stores, espe- 
cially in the southern stores, throughout the United States, they 
would, I think, readily sell. You will excuse me, sir, in sug- 
gesting these things, and impute it to the true cause, the inter- 
est I feel in the separation, and consequently preservation, o 
the two races of men. 

With great respect, I pray you to believe me to be, sir, 

Your friend and obedient servant, 

John McDonogh. 
The Rev. Robert S. Finley, D. D., 

Saint Louis, Mo. 

P. S. Did you obtain from the Rev. Doctor Scott, when 
here, as I recommended to you, the volume of Doctor Chalmers' 
works, containing a copy of his recommendation to the Parlia- 
ment of Great Britain of the plan which I carried out with such 
complete success ? It appe^irs to me, sir, that on publishing the 
edition of my letters which you contemplate doing, were you to 
add the testimony, in his own words, of one standing so promi- 
nently before the world as that great man does, the effect would 
be conclvfsive and could not fail to bring conviction to the mind 
of all who read it. 

As to my letters, which I send you, to Washington Mc- 



96 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

Donogh, you could say, if you think any good would arise 
from publishing it, you found it enclosed in his letters to me, 
and that you have my consent to publish it, all which is the 
truth. 



FROM JOHN W. S. NAPIER. 

Dayton, Marengo Co., Ala., 

October 17, 1848. 
John McDonogh, Esq.: 

Dear Sir, — Please permit me to introduce myself to you 
as an inquirer after the success of the Liberians in Africa, I 
have been informed that you liberated some seventy or eighty 
slaves some years since, and sent them to Liberia, and that 
you would gladly give any information in your possession as 
to their success and prospects to any person who might wish 
to follow your example. 

Knowing an individual or two who wish to be identified 
with the benevolent in that way, I wish you to give your views 
as to the result of such an enterprise. I find some fears as to 
their doing well even amongst those who are liberated, and any 
intelligence from you or those having experience would go to 
strengthen their hands. I received two pamphlets from the 
Colonization Society, the report of their last annual meeting, 
which convinces me of its benevolence and christian design 
and tendency. Your compliance will much oblige your 
friend, 

John. W. S. Napier. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 97 

TO MR. JOHN W. S. NAPIER. 

New Orleans, October 30, 1848. 
Dear Sir : — 

Though covered with the affairs of Hfe, and now old, I 
take a few minutes from sleep to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 17th instant and give to it a short reply, the 
brevity of which you will excuse. 

The object of your letter is to ascertain the state of the 
late colony at Liberia on the western coast of Africa, now the 
free and independent United States of Liberia, or the Liberia 
nation, and how the colonists who emigrated from the United 
States, and especially those persons whom I, under the Most 
High, sent there, are pleased and satisfied with the country of 
their fathers. 

Their prospects, as a great and happy nation, I am happy 
to say, sir, — as the pamphlet called the African Repository, 
which you inform me you have read, informs you, — are most 
flattering, being a republic with all its institutions modeled 
after our own constitution of government. The people com- 
posing it are, perhaps, sir, as my letters from great numbers of 
those I assisted to go there, show, one of the happiest commu- 
nities on earth, wanting for nothing to add to their enjoyments 
of life and prospects of eternity. 

They write me in short that they are happy, in want of 
nothing, having everything that they stand in need of in the 
greatest abundance, that the country is one. of the finest on 
earth, the soil is extraordinarily rich, and climate fine for the 
black man, that they are owners of fine plantations, growing 
coffee, cotton, &c., &c. 

Being requested last year (1S47) by the Rev. Mr. Finley, 
who edits a newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri, called the 
Liberian Advocate, to give him some of their letters received 



98 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'dONOGH 

by me, for publication, I gave him in consequence some 
twenty letters, which he published in that paper. Those letters 
were postmarked by the way of London, Boston, New York, 
Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c. The editor requested all persons 
interested in it to apply for the paper. I received a number of 
those papers, but have given them all away, or I would other- 
wise send them to you, sir. 

But if you will address that worthy gentleman, and re- 
quest the papers having those letters, he no doubt will forward 
them to you. It is a monthly paper, published at the low 
price of fifty cents per annum, which your friends might sub- 
scribe for, and which would give you every information of Lib- 
eria and its happy prospects. 

I hope, and should be made happy in knowing, that the 
benevolent of your state had determined to assist the black 
man to reach the benighted land of their fathers, carrying with 
them the arts, civilization, and Christianity of the white man of 
the land of their bondage, as the most glorious return we can 
make them for the injustice we have inHicted on their race. 
With respect, I am, sir, 

Your most obedient servant, 

John McDonogh. 
To Mr. John W. S. Napier, 

Drayton, Marengo Co., Ala. 



LETTER OF REV. R. R. GURLEY. 

Washington, March 6th, 1850. 
My dear and honored friend : — 

Having some few days ago concluded my report in regard 
to the condition and prospects of Liberia, for the government, I 
avail myself of an early opportunity of stating to you, sir, as 
one of the truest and most generous friends of the cause of 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH QQ 

civilization and Christianity in Africa, some of the impressions 
derived from my recent visit, and also some information con- 
cerning those who obtained their freedom through your kind- 
ness, and who on that far distant shore still cherish deep in 
their hearts towards you sentiments of gratitude, respect, and 
veneration. 

I was for two months on the coast, and on shore almost 
daily, and had abundant opportunities to observe the character 
and operations of the government, and the dispositions and 
condition of the people. I have returned with a deeper con- 
viction than I had before, that the scheme of African colonization 
is one of vast beneficence, meriting the earnest and liberal sup- 
port of the whole American people. The Republic of Liberia 
promises to extend its renovating influence, and I have no 
doubt will finally attract to itself a large portion of our colored 
population, while it will gather many millions of the native 
Africans beneath the shadow of its wings. 

A better ordered community it would be difficult to find, 
and one of the same number accomplishing as much good 
probably does not exist. There is, perhaps, less industry than 
there should be, but great improvements have been made, and 
there is increasing cheerfulness and hope and enterprise among 
the people, and this new aspect of things is to be attributed to 
their independence. What is most needed is some additional 
means to enable the government to explore the country, open 
new avenues for trade, make agricultural experiments, and 
improve the harbors and the system of education. 

I saw a number of your people and visited their settle- 
ments on the beautiful banks of the St. Paul. Mr. G. R. Ellis 
is one of the most intelligent and respectable citizens of Monro- 
via, lives in a very substantial, well-furnished house, while he 
has a flourishing plantation some seventeen miles up the river. 
I visited him frequently. He has for his wife one of the best- 



lOO IKTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

educated women in the Republic, and is himself a man of great 
activity and enterprise, I am indebted to him for the following 
list of those who emigrated from your plantation. 

George Ellis has a wife and two children, Jas, M, George 
(Taylor) is now living among the natives at Grand Cullo or 
Colo, engaged in the palm oil trade, I was at his house, and 
think that in regard to this world he is doing well, 

Simon Jackson, Beverly Kelly, George Jackson, Augustus 
Lambeth, Joshua Johnson, Andrew Jackson, Washington D. 
McDonogh (now a missionary at Settra Kerro, married, much 
esteemed and doing well), John Martin, Charles Kelly, Charles 
Mason, Rhina Kelly (has seven children), Mary Jackson (has 
two children), Polly Jackson, Nancy Jackson (has two children), 
Polly Butler, Julia Lambert (three children), Molly Johnson 
(has three children), Henrietta Fuller (two children), Nancy 
Sturtevant (one child), Juda Smith, Rebecca Briggs, Matilda 
Briggs, Susan Mulcrease, Bridget Hyrer (one child), and Tama 
Morel. I presume this list is accurate, and I heard of no ill 
health among the entire number. 

I am pleased to see that some movements are made in 
New Orleans to encourage and aid emigration to Africa, and I 
trust your own liberal example and your noble efforts will be 
imitated in all portions of the Union, I shall be happy to hear 
from you, sir, whenever your duties will allow you to write, and 
I pray you to accept the assurance that with the greatest re- 
spect I have the honor to be most faithfully your friend and 
servant, R- R- Gurley, 



TO REV. R. R. GURLEY. 

New Orleans, June lo, 1850. 
Dear Sir : — 

A thousand thanks for your goodness in giving me the 

pleasing information you have communicated in your letter ol 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH IOI 

the 6th of March last, in relation to Liberia and her prospects, 
and the people whom in the providence of God I had some little 
instrumentality in assisting to reach their fatherland. 

If I have not acknowledged the receipt of your highly es- 
teemed favor at a more early day, for it reached me in the due 
course of mail, it was because I was incapacitated by sickness 
from addressing you. I have had lately an attack of rheuma- 
tism, from which indeed I am suffering at this moment. For 
the last twelve months, however, I have not enjoyed my accus- 
tomed feelings of health, having been ill at ease without being 
sick. I imputed it to the closing of the seventieth year of my 
age, generally a critical period of man's life. Whether that 
was the cause or not, I cannot say. At any rate, with you, sir, 
I am assured in advance it will be accepted as a sufficient apol- 
ogy in not having sooner addressed you. 

I heard of your departure for Africa and your return to 
your native land with feelings of the greatest satisfaction and 
joy, knowing that the grand object of your existence on earth, 
like your prototype St. Paul, is the honor of God and conse- 
quently the benefit and salvation of your fellow-men, and that, 
wherever you are moved, his honor and glory would be 
promoted by you. 

Your opinion of Liberia and her prospects fills my heart 
with joy, and I agree with you, sir, "that the scheme of African 
colonization is one of vast beneficence, meriting the earnest 
and liberal support of the whole American people," and that 
Liberia will, as you observe, attract to her bosom a large 
portion of the colored people of our country. She must 
also receive in time, and that time is not far distant, the slave 
population of the south, manumitted and sent to their father- 
land by their owners. 

God in his mercy is preparing the means and the way. A 
few years more, and white labor in our country, from the natu- 



I02 INTERESTIXG PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

ral as well as the foreign increase of our population, will be as 
cheap as it is now in France and Italy. Whenever that is the 
case — and it has been going down lower and lower for many 
years past — the slave holder will not retain his slaves, will not 
agree to keep and support them, but will drive them away, as 
white labor will then cost less than it would require to feed, 
clothe, and lodge his slaves, besides being in other ways more 
profitable. 

The account you gave me, sir, of the moral and religious 
character of those people whom I assisted to get to Liberia, 
and of their happiness and prosperity there, affords me great 
joy. My first great object in assisting them to reach that 
country was the honor of our Lord and Master. To that end 
I strove to instruct them and prepare them, through a long 
series of years, day and night, and had them instructed in the 
knowledge of him and his righteous law. To know then, sir, 
that they are laboring in his divine cause with a holy and pious 
zeal, fills my heart with delight and thankfulness to him, the 
glorious author. 

Can you inform me, sir, how and why it is that the mission- 
ary societies of our country look with apathy or coldness, if 
I may dare say, on the vast field of labor, heathen Africa, which 
is white for the reaping, and send no helping hands, no laborers 
to the harvest? Why, sir, are they not engaged in educating 
and preparing hundreds and thousands (if possible) of pious 
colored men for the African field, seeing that the climate is fatal 
to the white man ? 

Were seminaries established for that purpose, where 
black and colored would be educated for the ministry and sup- 
ported free of expense, and advertisement made, I doubt not 
hundreds would respond to the call in a cause the most glorious 
of earth. Will the government of the United States do no- 
thing in the way of an appropriation of money, say a half mil- 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH I03 

lion of dollars annually, during the next ten or twelve years, to 
assist in the expense of transporting the free black and colored 
population of the United States to their fatherland ? 

The time I should think is a favorable one for pressing the 
subject on the attention of Congress. More especially as the 
great, virtuous, and good man, General Taylor, (who, without 
any information or knowledge of his views on the subject, I 
am convinced is favorably disposed towards it ; for his heart is 
the seat of every noble, every benevolent affection,) is in the 
presidency. What subject is there, sir, after that of the Union, 
which interests more the American people than this ? 

A special message on the subject to Congress from the 
president, recommending at the same time the acknowledg- 
ment of the independence of the Liberian republic and the 
forming of a commercial treaty with her, would, I have no 
doubt, be acceded to by that body, and a law passed in con- 
formity. I perceive, sir, in your interesting addresses delivered 
before the New York State Colonization Society lately, and 
before the American Colonization Society on the 15th of 
January last in Washington, that you advocate, as the form 
of government best suited for Liberia, that of a consolidated 
republic, in preference to a federal one or union of states. 

You will excuse me, sir, if I mention this. It is not done 
to express an opinion, but to express merely my fears. The 
object of you and myself is the same, the happiness and prps- 
perity of that people. You have reflected on the subject, 
and studied the people and their situation. I have not. But, 
as you observe, sir, she is destined to become a great nation, 
and to extend her sway over a great portion of that continent. 
In her present state of weakness, and for a length of time to 
come, no doubt, the most simple form for her would be consoli- 
dation. 

But in time, when her limits will be greatly extended by 



I04 IXTERESTIXG PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

annexation, and her population increased by millions and tens 
of millions — for ambition fires the breast of the black man, as it 
does that of the white — would it not be found necessary, in 
order to satisfy her ambitious men, to have other high posts of 
honor, such as we possess in our different state governments, 
of governors, lieutenant governors, state senators, representa- 
tives, &c., &c. ? Or would not their consolidated government 
be driven to the alternative of standing armies, which armies 
again in their turn would become most dangerous? 

I have been taught to believe that the safety of our own 
glorious republic depended, under God, upon our federative 
system, the honors of our state governments acting as escape 
pipes for the high steam of our ambitious men to go off by and 
evaporate without danger to the body politic. You, sir, who 
have studied man as he is, and reflected much and deeply on 
the subject, do you believe that our happy republic would have 
descended from our revolution to the present day under a 
consolidated form, without shocks, attempts at revolution, or a 
large standing army ? 

I have not had the pleasure of hearing for a long time 
anything of the progress making in growth and other ways of 
your little son, John McDonogh Gurley. I hope he is every- 
thing that his parents' hearts can desire or wish him, and will 
become the support and consolation of their declining age. 
Be pleased, sir, to make my respects to your admirable lady, 
Mrs. Gurley, and with every wish for your health and happi- 
ness, and that of your family, I am, sir, with great respect, 
Your friend and obedient servant, 

John McDonogh. 
Rev. R. R. Gurley, Washington, D. C. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



PAPERS OF JOHN McDONOGH. 



FROM J. POGUE. 

Baltimore, July 27, 1817. 

Dear Uncle : — 

I have it now in my power to inform you that 
last week the trustees appointed by the chancellor effected a sale 
of the whole of Grandfather's estate, and I think a very good 
one. The Market street property brought $17,100, and the 
remaining lots in the neighborhood of Grandfather's late 
dwelling, twenty-three in number, brought $11,500, a much 
better price than they did for at the mer sale. The terms 
of sale were one, two, twelve, and eighteen months. 

There remains no likelihood of the estate being closed 
much short of two years. I cannot exactly learn the amount 
the estate is yet indebted, but it is not short of $10,000, so that 
a division of more than $1800 each may not be expected. An- 
nexed you have the total cost of the Manor, by which you per- 
ceive how much I am in advance. It has amounted to 
rather more than I expected, but it is now well enclosed, 
comfortably improved, and will cost nothing further. 

Aunt's family is now quite comfortably situated. She has 
four of her daughters at school, which is as many as can go at 



loS INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGII 

present. — Nothing new in this part of the world ; times rather 
harder than usual. Our family and relations are all well. 
I am, dear sir, 

Yours sincerely, 

J. POGUE. 



TO MRS. JANE McDONOGH HAMETT. 

New Orleans, March 2nd, 1834. 
Dear Jane : — 

I have your letters of the 26th July last and T3th of 
February, and note their contents. You speak to me of 
your son John, and say you have three sons at home whom 
you are anxious to place at trades. Then why do you not 
do it? Take my advice and bind them out immediately, let 
not a day go over your head till it is done. Immaterial to 
what trades, all are honorable. The carpenter, bricklayer, 
or blacksmith, if an honest, industrious, and virtuous man, 
useful in his day and generation and walking in the fear of 
the Lord, may consider himself the equal of the President 
of the United States. 

Had I fifty sons, I would bring them up to hard labor and 
industry, giving them trades and nothing more. Even though 
I had it to give them, they should not have a cent from me. 
Bring up your children therefore, in the fear of the Lord, to 
industry and hard labor, and give them a trade. If they are 
virtuous they will find their way through the world. The 
Most High never abandons the virtuous man. We are here 
to labor, and from my experience I have found that happi- 
ness is only, at any rate chiefly, to be found in this world 
in the cabins of the industrious and virtuous poor. 
With affection, your brother, 

John McDonogh. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH ICQ 

TO THE WASHINGTON LITERARY SOCIETY. 

New Orleans, January, 1840. 
Messrs. John M. Lowrie and I. Snodgrass, 

Corresponding Committee Washington Literary Society : 
Gentlemen, — Your esteemed favor of the 26th November 
last, by mail, reached me some time since, and I seized the 
first moment which my labors have allowed me since its 
receipt to acknowledge it and at the same time the high 
honor your society has done me in placing my name amongst 
its honorary .pienibers. 

For this much of the good opinion of your society I 
return through you, gentlemen, my humble thanks, and beg 
leave to assure you, though I can do little for the advancement 
of your noble institution, that you do me but justice when you 
observe that I will ever wish to promote the interests of science, 
literature, and friendship. 

John McDonogh. 
Lafayette College, 

Easton, Penn, 



FROM AUGUSTUS R. McDONOGH. 

St. Louis, September 26, 1843. 
Mr. McDonogh : 

Sir, — My motive for addressing you will, 1 trust, excuse 
that freedom in one acquainted only with your name. Its 
identity with that of my father, the late Commodore McDonogh, 
attracted my attention some years ago, when I first became 
aware of your residence at New Orleans. 

Upon being informed recently, since commencing the 
practice of my profession in St. Louis, that your native state 



no INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

is Maryland, I resolved to take the liberty of enquiring 

whether there exists any relationship between your family 

and that of my father, originally from Delaware, and of 

requesting, should that prove to be the case, the transmission 

of any information in your possession as to his early lii'e. 

It is scarcely necessary to add that the respect attending 

your name, wherever your late philanthropic conduct is 

known, would add greatly to the pleasure with which I 

should recognize any connection between it and my own. 

I am, &c., 

Very respectfully yours, 

Augustus R. McDonogh. 



TO AUGUSTUS R. McDONOGH, ESQ. 

New Orleans, May 20, 1844. 

Sir, — I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt 
of your favor of the 26th September last, and owe you an 
apology for not having answered it long since. The cause 
has been my repeated absences from the city in different 
parts of the state, which put it out of my power to reply to 
it, and secondly, your letter having become displaced from the 
file of those I had to reply to, it was only this morning it 
caught my eye, which you will please excuse. 

You enquire, sir, whether there exists any relationship 
between my family and that of your father, the late Commo- 
dore McDonogh. As I had answered this question some 
months since in reply to a letter addressed me from the 
city of Washington, D. C, by Mr. Thomas McDonogh, I will 
transcribe it here. 

And with great respect I have the honor to be, 

Your most obedient and humble servant, 

John McDonogh. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH III 

TO MR. THOMAS McDONOGH. 

New Orleans, July 31, 1843. 
Sir, — I have received your letter of the 17th instant, 
wherein you enquire whether I am in any way related to the 
late Commodore McDonogh, of the United States Navy, and 
in reply have to observe, acknowledging at the same time as 
I do the compHment which the enquiry implies, that I know 
of no relationship between myself and that truly great and 
noble man, other than that which allies man to his fellow men 
of the whole human family. 

And am respectfully, sir. 

Your most obedient servant, 

John McDonogh. 



FROM THOMAS McDONOGH DUMFORD. 

Lafayette College, January 24, 1846. 
My dear Godfather : — 

Some time since I took occasion to drop a few lines to you 
in conjunction with Messrs. Wood and Howell, corresponding 
committee of the Washington Literary Society connected with 
our institution, asking you to subscribe towards our diploma. 
I suppose you would have replied ere this to their demand if 
your business allowed you, which I took occasion to inform 
them. 

But I assured them that they would beyond doubt receive 
an answer from you as soon as you could obtain leisure. I my- 
self, I informed them, expected to hear from you also — the 
reason why I did not address you sooner than this. As I 
partially informed you concerning the object of getting a di- 
ploma plate, from which diplomas to be given to graduate mem- 



112 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH 

bers on leaving the society and the institution are to be struck 
off, I will say a little now on the subject. 

In 1830 the Washington Literary Society of Lafayette 
College was organized and the constitution adopted. It was 
by a majority of the members seen fit to have something by 
which members could, after they left the body, be recognized, in 
whatever part of the world they may be cast. The latter 
plan of getting up a diploma was adopted, but never carried 
into efifect, on account of the inability of the members to 
subscribe any large amount. Thus the matter rested for more 
than twelve years. 

During the last summer I proposed to members of my 
class to urge the matter until they would accomplish the end 
which the constitution had in view. But the only answer I 
received was, "We cannot." "Very well," said I, "I will carry 
it on," and I proposed the plan of writing to honorary members 
for their suppor,t in this. We have thus far received one hun- 
dred and some dollars towards it. I firmly concluded that 
"perseverance conquers all things." 

It will be a source of great benefit to the society and the 
institution, I think. It will be in the former case, in bringing 
a revenue sufficient to increase the library, which is one of the 
essentials necessary to the growth of an institution ; and secondly 
it will induce members of the institute to graduate and receive 
their degree of Bachelor of Arts. The plate will cost about $140. 

In conversation with our estimable Dr. Junkin, he informed 
me that in your last letter to him you had requested him to 
inquire of me of what profession I should make choice. I sup- 
pose he has already informed you of my intention of studying 
medicine. The study of physiology has always been a favor- 
ite of mine, either because it is one of the most perfect and 
complex studies, or the interest I have seen my dear father 
take in it ; but one thing sure, I have always loved it. 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH II3 

The advantages which one has in pursuing this study far 
surpass those of the law. The law, permit me to say, is too 
much hacked up by pettifoggers and men of little wit. It is 
not made an object to improve the intellect, but a mere money 
making scheme. I think this should be as foreign to an individ- 
ual's mind as possible, for it is impossible to improve the intel- 
lect when such an object is made the chief pursuit. Gain is 
mere nothing, if one does not gain what is useful. For many, 
indeed, have this in mind when they launch themselves upon 
the world, and alas, how many are forced to beggar the public. 
It is wrong, and should not be indulged in too largely. We 
live not for ourselves, but for God and mankind. 

You will perceive, to your satisfaction, the provisions which 
I made and my calculations according to the orders of my 
father. He informed me that you had been sent my letter. 
I think that I come not very far from being right in my infor- 
mation. Where I shall study and when, is of course left to 
your discretion. I presume not to say, but leave it to your own 
proper judgment. You are aware that it is my last year in 
college, when I suppose I shall pay you a visit after so long an 
absence, and to those parents whom I so heartily love, my 
mother and sister. 

I perceive that Judge Garland is in Havana, according'to a 
letter written by a gentleman of New York to a Boston paper. 
He says a gentleman saw him in Havana discussing in a theater 
the Oregon, Texas and other questions. It is an awful strain 
upon the legal profession, from one too who stood so high 
in the ranks of his fellow men. May heaven guide him in 
his ways, and seeing his folly may he repent. 

We had on Tuesday last a snow that fell to the depth of 
fourteen inches, but the weather after that began to get warmer, 
which causes the snow to melt very fast. The winter with us 
has not been very cold or heavy. Hoping that you will find a 



114 INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M'DONOGH 

moment or two of leisure to address a few lines to me, and that 
the Most High will lengthen out your old age that you may in 
conjunction with my beloved parents once more allow me to 
look upon you there, I subscribe myself, 

Your faithful and devoted godson, 

Thos. McDonogh Dumford. 



TO HIS SISTER MARY. 

New Orleans, May 13, 1845. 

Dear Mary : — In a letter lately received from your daugh- 
ter Mrs. Hayne, she informed me of your loss, in the death, 
or rather departure from this mortal to an immortal state, of a 
son and daughter. In this disposition of the Most High, I 
I sympathize with you in your sorrow, and though, for short- 
sighted mortals, the decrees of an all wise Providence often run 
counter to our fondest hopes and desires, (and we know not 
why this should be so,) still let us have the head and the heart 
to bow in humble resignation to the divine will ; for we shall 
know, see and confess hereafter that it was all in wisdom, and 
infinite goodness directed it for our eternal welfare in his ever- 
lasting purposes of love and mercy. 

You, Mary, are not one of those who "sorrowing have no 
hope," but believe that our glorious Redeemer died and rose 
again, and that all those who believe in him shall rise also and 
be forever with him. Your children, departing on their jour- 
ney in that faith which their pious father and mother had from 
infancy instilled into their souls, have only preceded you a few 
short days to that region of everlasting happiness where you 
will soon join them, never more to be separated, and where 
you will again meet in bonds of everlasting love those beloved 



INTERESTING PAPERS OF JOHN M DONOGH II5 

and sainted parents, who to me, and I doubt not to you also, 
were beyond all things else on earth most dear. 

We have the recollection, sister, of those beloved parents 
whom we shall meet again, and from whom we shall be sepa- 
rated no more, through the atoning blood of our blessed 
Saviour. If their children have been so wonderfully blessed in 
this life by the Most High, it has been for the sake of those 
parents in answer to their prayers. They reared us with such 
tender care in the path of virtue, and taught us to give our 
whole soul in love, first to the Divinity, then secondly to 
themselves, and lastly to our fellow man. 

This never crosses my mind but my heart and my eyes 
offer up a tribute to their memory. Holding up then, my sis- 
ter, in full view before your eyes the glorious command and 
promise, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a 
crown of life," let us press on to the end and secure that crown 
immortal and the joys which fade not. 

I am, dear Mary, though old and advancing to the grave, 
still as in youth warm in affection for you. 

John McDonogh. 

P. S. Remember me to Mr. Cole, to your family, and to 
my beloved Jane. 



LRBJe'28 



